Trident Series
by Castiel-111
Summary: Not your average Halo Story, contains elements of my own design and follows original characters placed within the universe of Halo.
1. Chapter 1: Dark Beginnings

Dark Beginnings

3 years prior to the fall of Tyram.

Location: Doisac: Jiralhanae home world.

Play First song: watch?v=K8AdrY…

Have you ever wondered where the prisoners of the Covenant went? Those that didn't seem valuable that is. Many people assumed that most of the prisoners taken by the covenant were executed almost immediately if they did not provide useful information, or the fact that they usually didn't take prisoners... Well in most cases that would be true but for the Brutes, those they kept as prisoners were usually transported to their home world, if they weren't eaten first. Once there, they were taken to slaver camps and forced to fight to the death. Now it wasn't always UNSC that found themselves in this pit of hell, sometimes it was Kig-Yar, other times it was Unggoy, and even on rare occasion a Sangheili warrior, disgraced and cast out as a heretic among the Covenant. Most other species enslaved came after the war and it was primarily human soldiers, those that survived the fights usually died of their wounds shortly after. The Death camps were terrible places. But for one, it was the birthplace of an Unholy Bloodlust and desire for death. This story is the account of Felix Brandt, a Spartan-II  
That served during the human-Covenant war... This is his dark beginning.

Everything could be heard from the cells, the screams of the dying, the battle cries of the victor, the whimpering and cursing coming from the cages around him. It is true what they say when killing can change a man, but being forced to fight to the death every day with no hope of ever escaping the confines of the camp. Something inside Felix died after months of the hell that was the War-ground, instead of fear. The Spartan had nothing but an inner blood lust, one that had formed during his time within the encampment. Something that could only be considered Jiralhanae behavior. An unhealthy need for destruction and chaos. Felix relished the thought of killing his next opponent, to feel the bone break underneath his boot, and the felling of blood as it flowed out of the lifeless bodies. Felix was no longer human, and he liked it. Cell doors groaned and creaked as they opened and in the opening stood a Jiralhanae, a long black brown whip as thick as a steel cable in hand. This Brute was not wearing anything that even resembled Covenant apparel but instead wore some sort of a thick leathery armor that covered most of it's body, neck guards on either side of the collar piece could be seen and the Brute was wearing something similar to that of a helmet a Brute major would wear, the golden surface dented and rusty from the constant use. It growled before reaching into it's pocket and pulling out a key, it then unlocked the long heavy chain from the wall connecting to Felix and wrapped it around his hand before tugging roughly. Felix responded after the second tug standing up to his full height. 7ft 10 inches, one of the biggest and tallest Spartans ever created. Felix gave the Brute an evil smile before proceeding out of the cell with his captor. The roar from outside was deafening but Felix barely heard it, he was to busy contemplating how he was going to slaughter the poor sap that he was going up against. He could hear the grumbling of two guards as they bet on who the winner of the last match was, apparently the one he was going up against never lost. He was about to change that... Giant metal doors groaned as they slowly opened revealing the blood colored battle field, the sand was tinted red, now whether that be from the blood red sky or actual blood from the many fallen he did not know but he didn't have time to think about the color of sand, he was going to kill his advisory. Dispersing his thoughts he looked around to see the roaring of the crowds as they awaited what was to come, he could see the many Chieftains sitting atop glorified thrones, a big one, probably the Chieftain of this encampment stood and motioned for the gates to open. There was a nod from some Brute guards and they moved towards the metal doors across from where Felix had entered. Grabbing the chains on either side they pulled, straining as they did so they managed to slowly open both sides of the giant door revealing the beast that lay within.

Play Second song: watch?v=wCtEmX…

Felix could tell it was big, the shadows around it seemed to cascade down the hulking figure as it walked into the blood-lit arena, it's shape formed into that of simian origin and Felix found that he was staring at a Brute. Not just any Brute however but an Alpha, over 8ft. 10. Easily towering over most Sangheili. The beast roared into the air as if encouraging the crowd to join him. Felix felt his restraints loosen and fall limp to the floor in a series of clanks and clatters, looking over he could see a Brute guard dragging the chains back into the metal doors before they closed behind him. He turned back to the giant monkey and grinned, it was carrying the oh so symbolic gravity hammer that most Alphas or Chieftains carry, except it was much larger and looked like it fit him personally, skulls from many species hung from a rope tied around his neck, and when it growled he could see the large canine fangs that the beast possessed. The large Brute smashed his hammer on the ground creating a small crater before beginning his charge towards the Spartan. Everything was still, though the crowd never ceased with their chants and roars, the pounding of the beasts feet shook the ground as it quickly closed the gap between them. But within Felix, lay a disturbing calmness, the calmness quickly manifested into blood lust and rage as he looked into the eyes of the beast mere feet from him now, and as the Brute raised the hammer to deal what would be considered the death blow Felix reacted. Quicker than anyone there had ever seen he side stepped once to allow the Brute to exert all his strength into decimating the ground before slamming all of his mass into the side of the hulking creature, effectively knocking the wind out of him. Once the beast was on it's back Felix took this opportunity to unleash a series of hellish blows to the beasts face, blood and saliva spewed from it's gigantic maw as it struggled to get the Spartan off, but Felix would not allow it, grabbing a nearby rock he started bashing it into the Brutes skull, breaking bones and teeth as he did so. The roaring of rage that had come from the Brute almost immediately turned into screams of pain as Felix destroyed it's face with the rock. The brute finally grabbed Felix by the shoulder and ripped him off, throwing him across the arena. Rolling Felix found his balance and charged at the now struggling Brute, the gravity hammer which a moment ago the Brute had possessed was now lying on the floor, Felix would make good use of that as he grabbed the large metal hammer and started dragging it towards the Brute who was now struggling to get back on it's feet, It turned and roared back at Felix, pieces of flesh hanging tattered off his face revealing exposed bone and tissue. Felix however, was not phased by the grotesque appearance and with all his strength swung the giant metal hammer into the Brutes side. A loud series of cracks followed by an unearthly scream was heard as the giant beast crumpled to the floor, breathing heavily and now covered in blood Felix dragged the hammer over to the beast which was now barely alive and stood by his head. He then looked up at the Chieftains who were now seething with anger and said, "I am the one who shall end you all! Every last one of you shall die under my boot and I will relish the grinding of your bones!" Once he had finished yelling that to the crowd he then turned lifted the hammer and swung it's hulking mass downward.

The result was instant, the skull crushed spewing blood and bits of brain out onto the sand quickly filling the now formed crater that was once the Alphas head. The gravity hammer lie in the center of the pool of blood and Felix stood next to it Smiling and glaring evilly at the Chieftains. The head Chieftain stood up and roared before leaping from his throne and landing onto the War-ground below. Others soon followed suit and fairly soon the entire crowd had dropped down and was now charging at Felix with blood lust in their eyes. Felix shared their same thirst for blood as he grabbed the hilt of the gravity hammer and lifted it out of the blood filled crater. Holding it in both hands he then charged at the oncoming horde of Brutes, he may die but he was going to kill every last one of them before he did. The horde and Felix had clashed and he was obscured from view because of the mass of bodies that crashed into him, resting in the center he was cleaving the heads off of Brutes and smashing the ribs of his advisories as he took on the entire tribe. Giant hands grabbed at him but they were destroyed as soon as they came close. Whips cracked as some of the guards tried striking him down but it was to no avail, grabbing the leathery whip as it struck at him he pulled the Brute forward and, in one quick motion brought the hilt of his hammer around the Brutes neck breaking it with his hammer.

Roars and screams could be heard throughout the encampment as one deranged human fought against a horde of Angry Jiralhanae. Just as the Spartan was consumed by the wave of bodies, Pelicans burst through the clouds. The pelicans had managed to get past all radar and ships the Brutes possessed with ease. Spinning up the Gatling guns, both gunships opened fire on the horde below effectively turning the War-ground into a meat grinder. Bodies were torn apart and blood sprayed everywhere as the ships finished off the remaining survivors. The ships circled the area a few times before finally landing on the ground below. A mass of goo that moments ago was one of the Chieftains started moving, and a hand burst forth. The hand of a human, then gradually the rest of the human came into view. Felix had survived the onslaught and was now drenched from head to foot in blood. He stood gravity hammer still in hand and watched as the ships landed.

The hatch of one of the pelicans opened causing a hiss as the air tight seal broke. Soldiers filed out before taking up positions at the bottom of the pelican. One man, a human with armor he could almost compare to Spartan armor walked casually down the ramp holding what appeared to be a chart in his hand before stepping onto the blood soaked ground. The armor itself was the color of blood and steel. His visor matched that of the burning sky and Felix wondered what this man truly was, "Felix Brandt?" He said casually as he addressed the blood drenched Spartan, "Yeah?" He said anger still emanating from him in waves, the man looked at a chart he was holding before tossing it aside, "My name is Ryan Miller, but you'll soon know me as Trident, It took a long time to find you my friend." Two other humans in similar armor stepped out of the Pelican, one male and slightly taller than Trident, and the other female with a strange weapon that seemed covenant in origin. "These two have joined me as well, the one on my right is Kara." He gestured to the female who nodded in return, "And the man to my left is Avion." The man simply stood there watching Felix intently, whatever emotions were behind his helmet would be forever hidden behind his visor, "But enough with the introductions, now we get down to the reason I am here." He said pausing briefly before continuing, "I have sought you out because I have great interest in your skills, and we could use your abilities to help in our war against the insects known as ONI. If you join us I can guarantee you will be able to kill to your hearts content, so long as it's the people I have assigned you to kill." Felix thought about this for a moment, he realized his right eye was hurting, but he ignored the pain and focused on the soldier before him, "What if I agree to this? Whats in it for me aside from the onslaught?" He said a heavy German accent escaping his lips as he spoke, the soldier responded with ease, "Oh you will receive more than that I can assure you, upgraded armor variants as well as a small army under your command, the only one you will take orders from is me. What do you say to that?" He said in a tone that could convince even the hardest of minds, he had to admit this man was very sure of himself, but Felix could tell he had darker secrets that he withheld inside himself, Felix didn't question further but instead responded with, "I'm in, but I request one thing before I go with you." There was a pause before trident responded, "And what would that be?" Trident asked,

"Call me Bloodletter." Trident smiled under his helmeted features and nodded, "Very well Bloodletter lets get moving, it's only a matter of time before the Jiralhanae figure out we got past their defenses." Bloodletter nodded and followed Trident up the ramp dragging the gravity hammer with him, the hatch shut and both pelicans lifted off and flew out of Doisac, leaving behind the savage planet.

The story of how Bloodletter began was harsh and disturbing, and no one should have to have experienced what those whom were there had to go through. Unfortunately for those that have soon yet to feel the wrath of Bloodletter, monstrous beings are born in monstrous places.


	2. Chapter 2: Hunted

8 months after the War with Tyrams forces.

Location: Reach

Classification: ONI Highcom.

Target: Former ONI Special Operations, Lieutenant Castiel, S-111.

Lieutenant Commander Eridamis Noronmel of ONI Special Operations HighCom.

Message for Members of the board of Directors, ONI HighCom.

Information strictly classified, anyone that attempts to read this file that does not have the authorization will be dealt with immediately.

Message: This man was one of the few Spartan IIs selected to participate in a top secret ONI experiment involving the training of these men in becoming the perfect Stealth Operations Soldier or Assassins as the temple Guardians called it. There were only three successful Spartans to undergo the training required and were instilled in various places across the universe. The three soldiers were separated to ensure that they were not all eliminated at once, since they were the only ones with their particular skill and ONI could not risk such a high investment going to waste.

From the information we can gather this is what we know of the others.

Castiel S-111: Codename Ghost given by the head Director within the Freelancer program. Ghost ascended to Assassin Master during their time in the temples and serves as the leader of the three, Given the Title (Umbra mortis) By the Temple Guardians this man is responsible for the success of various ONI Operations across the galaxy. His reputation as an Assassin is well known through out ONI HighCom and the UNSC HighCom, this man is extremely dangerous and must be dealt with accordingly.

Jacob S-843: Codename Strife given by his assassin superior Ghost, this man reached the rank of Assassin and acts as a second to Ghost, this man's abilities with a blade have gone unmatched and was the sole cause of the success he created during his Operations. Not much is known of Strife but what we have obtained could prove to be valuable in the future.

Derik S-554: Codename Theron given by his assassin superior Ghost, Theron achieved the rank of Assassin along side Strife and worked as one of ONI's P.U.R.G.E. Operatives during many insurrectionist assaults, his skill in close quarters combat exceeds any member in the UNSC and ONI, his strength can be matched with some of the strongest sangheili warriors which makes him a versatile weapon capable of mass destruction. Although the same rank of Assassin as Strife, he lets the Ranking order go as it is and focuses on the mission objective. Again, we have little information regarding Theron or Strife as they disappeared not long after Ghost.

The target, Lieutenant Castiel was sent on various insurrectionist purges as well as information snatch and grabs from abandoned outposts that had been left during the Human-Covenant war. After 3 years of service, the Director of the Freelancer program had recruited Castiel into the freelancer program thus ending all communications with this soldier. This however was unacceptable and most of ONI agreed that a high priority soldier such as this does not "Go Dark" for an extended period of time without the knowledge of ONI Highcom. Years past before ONI operatives finally tracked a solid beacon emanating from an abandoned ONI research facility. This man is a direct threat to security and must be dealt with, ONI has sent in an elite team of Special operations Orbital Drop Shock Troopers as well as a two man team of headhunters to ensure the target is eliminated.

"Command, come in this is Captain James Taylor of the 78th ODST, we are nearing the facility and the beacon is still strong."

"Copy Captain, this is Command. He does not leave that place alive, understood?"

"Understood Command, Taylor out."

Thrusters roared as the Pelican made contact with the concrete floors within the courtyard of the ONI facility. The back hatch of the Pelican slowly opened revealing the ONI Drop troopers within, "Alright soldiers, command wants this guy dead and they sent us to ensure that he stays that way." The Captain said as they filed out searching the perimeter, the research facility looked like it had undergone serious plasma damage which wasn't surprising considering the entire canyon was used during the human-covenant war for cover from most of the air force that scouted the rocky crags of this desolate place. Looking back over at the main gates he noticed many craters and deep plasma damage to the outer walls of the facility indicating that quite a few wraith tanks had probably passed through here. Looking back at the facility itself he could see two entry doors, one at the second level of the compound, and one on the first level just a few meters away from their location, "Corporal I want the head hunters to proceed to the second floor and cut off any alternate escape, we will head through this door and see if we can't find our guy."

The soldier nodded and moved over to give orders to the big brutish soldiers that had been scouting the perimeter. The Captain turned his attention towards two of his men making their way towards the main door, checking to see that his rifle was indeed loaded he walked towards the door. One of his soldiers, Corporal Chris Hoffman was working on the door trying to break the codes and allow them entry, "How much time do we have Corporal?" The Captain asked, The soldier didn't even look up as he responded, "I have to get past the security walls that went up when this facility came under attack, and I'm just about... Got it! Captain, security system offline we can get into the base." The Captain nodded as the Corporal stood up and readied his shotgun, taking point he activated the panel causing the door to slide open. Making their way into the base they soon had to turn on their thermal imaging, allowing them to seek out their target in the darkness that was the ONI facility. "Check your Radar, this man is known for using Active Camouflage, if we can pinpoint the mass of red blips while he is in hiding we can find him faster." The Captain said as he led his men down a ramp that went to the bottom floor of the place. Looking around he could see there was indeed a fair amount of damage within the base just as their was outside of the base but this was on a smaller scale, assault rifle rounds had penetrated the thick concrete walls were as the plasma scorched the surface. A large covenant Grav-lift had been placed in the center of the building close to some sort of strange art design, what it was supposed to represent he wasn't quite sure but he wasn't here to speculate on the quirky artistic taste of the spooks in ONI, he was here to eliminate one of their ex-specialists. Moving on they made their way into what looked like a control center, the area had screens that showed the outside of the base as well as the main rooms inside the facility,

"Corporal, scan those cameras, see if you can find the him."

The soldier nodded and set off towards the screen filled room followed close behind by two other soldiers. Captain Taylor and his Lieutenant walked much more slowly, taking in much of their surroundings. Aside from the scorch marks, bullet holes, and small pieces on the ground, the control center looked just like it would if the place was not in ruins, looking over he could see the Corporal hard at work searching the database for any information, then just as they reached the room he looked up at the Captain,

"Sir, we found the signal he's in the facility Second floor in the Operations room."

The Captain nodded and looked at his Sergeant and motioned for him and his lieutenant to follow.

"Corporal, stay here and make sure his beacon stays online." With those words he walked out of the room and continued to one of the lifts leading up to the second floor followed close behind by three of his men.

The Second floor was worse off than the first, and that was putting it lightly. Walls were torn down, wires and cables jutting out in a tangled mess. Leaving the lift room they made their way through a long corridor, lights flickered as the reserve power of the facility struggled to maintain itself on the second floor. There was a general unease flowing through the men, especially the Captain though he masked his emotions quite well, although the helmet and visor probably helped a little. "The signal is just across the catwalk, he's close sir, watch yourself up there."

The Captain acknowledged before taking point and heading towards the beacons signal. "I don't see anything, Captain are you sure it's not a false reading?" Asked the Lieutenant as they entered the Operations room,

"Oh he's here alright, and if what his file says is true, we are going to need those headhunters."

They continued into the Operations room guns at the ready, the Captain stopped before one of the computer screens and looked at it, "Corporal there is a video log attached to this computer. Can you open it up?"

"Got it sir, file is opening now."

The screen goes black for a moment, the video is slightly blurred but then focuses in revealing a large black Pilot helmet outfitted for a Spartan sitting on the table, the rest of the room is dark and shuffling could be heard in the background. The noises continued on for quite some time before a large dark figure could be seen, he was holding what appeared to be sheets of paper in his left hand as his right rested at his side. The figure stayed back just enough to keep the light from revealing his face, "Captain James Taylor, of the 78th ODST." The figure said surprising the Captain, "I am aware that ONI has sent you to "Deal" with me, and as you should know, I am not one that can be taken easily." He said in a deadly serious tone, "I have read your file and I know that you and your team are more than capable of taking down foes greater than a Spartan-II, but let me just say this... Is it worth losing all of your men in an attempt to kill one?" He paused for a moment as if to give the Captain time to think before continuing on, I am giving you one chance to be reasonable, leave now and no harm will come to you and your men. Heed this warning Captain, for I am giving you a choice, if you make the wrong one there will be no going back..."

Play song #2: watch?v=5WvfZu…

The figure takes a step back into the shadows leaving only the image of the helmet on screen, it was quiet for a long time until a large gauntleted hand grabbed the top of the helmet and lifted it up as a large lower body moves past the screen causing it to bug out and go black, The Captain looked up at his men, as they looked back to him, he could feel the uncertainty in them, "Don't listen to him, we will hunt this bastard down and show that he is nothing. Spread out! Search for him!" The Captain yelled as the soldiers quickly comply spreading out and searching for any possible source of their target. The Captain raised his assault rifle and started searching the room, "Sir beacon has gone dark" Corporals voice came in over the radio

"Switch to your HUD, everyone watch for the red blips!"

"Sir I'm picking something up on my radar, I think it'~" All at once the Lieutenants line went dead, leaving nothing but static. "Lieutenant! Come in Damn it!"

"Corporal I want this place on lockdown, all doors, any exit point. He will not escape!"

"Yes, Sir." The Captain and his squad ran to the Lieutenants last known location, "I don't see anything Captain!" a soldier said as he searched for any sign of the Lieutenant. Looking around the Captain noticed droplets of blood hitting the ground three feet from what appeared to be an air duct in the wall, looking inside he couldn't see a thing, the hole looked as black as the void, consuming any light that attempted to find it's way in. Something dripped onto his shoulder and he looked up in surprise, "Oh my God..." Was all he could say as he sat looking at the lifeless corpse that was his Lieutenant, he appeared to be tangled in some steel cables and was hanging suspended in the air a good 15 ft off the ground, "Form up! Stay close! He's around here somewhere..." They all complied forming in a tight circle looking around rifles at the ready, "Sir, headhunters are on standby... Should I grant them access to the base?"

"Y-yes do it."

Perspective: Lieutenant Commander Hudson Jones. 13th Headhunter regiment.  
"Lieutenant, the Captain has granted you access to the base, proceed in and deal with the target."

"Copy, Hudson out." Hudson nodded to the other headhunter as they entered the base from the upper sectors. The place was devoid of any light, sparks would fly from the walls lighting their path as they walked, Raising his shot gun he led them through the many door ways and passages until they finally came to the main hall in the upper levels, "Sir, we are in and awaiting orders."

Static erupted before a voice came over the com, "Get your asses down here! We need back up!" His voice cut out as random spouts of gunfire sounded off from the background, "Captain, Whats going on?" Hudson said as they started moving again at a quicker pace. When they arrived at the upper levels they had a clear view of the courtyard beneath them.

He could see a few dead ODST's and no sign of the commander or the target, "Commander We have an overview of the courtyard what is your location?" He asked as he looked around for any way they could reach the lower levels. Locating the stair well they continued to the lower levels still no word from the commander, "I don't like this Hudson, why haven't we heard from the Commander?" Asked the other Headhunter, Hudson was silent still unsure himself about what happened to them, but he didn't voice his opinion. Instead he marched down the stairs and made his way into the court yard where they had been. Looking around he could see the fallen ODST's were not the commander. "Commander this is Hudson, what is your location over?" Static erupted from the radio as a voice struggled to maintain signal, "Com- Commander Huds- G- Control roo-" Hudson could barely make out what the voice said but he knew where it wanted him to go, "Let's move!" He said running toward the control room his ally following close behind. As the door to the room slid open they could see that the place had undergone recent combat, bullet holes covering most of the rooms surface, a few scorch marks from grenades. They walked up the stairs and saw a few of their squad dead.

"Commander? Commander! Where are you?" Hudson shouted as he raised his weapon keeping his head on a swivel. He looked to the control room itself and saw some more of his squad laying dead around the screens and control panels, "Commander Hudson." A weak voice said, Hudson looked over at the screen room and could make out the body of the Corporal that had been communicating with him over the radio trying to move as he rested his back against the control panel, Hudson ran over as the other headhunter checked the rest of the room. He knelt down beside the Corporal checking him for injuries, "What happened?" Hudson asked as he found a deep knife wound in the man's side. The Corporal coughed a bit before speaking, "He came... The target... *Cough* He killed them all, he took the Commander... *Cough* *Cough* He stopped to breathe before he continued on. I'm the only one that survived." Hudson pulled out his Bio foam canister and began filling the wound, "Corporal where did he take the Commander?" The Corporal was silent for a moment but he motioned up with his thumb before coughing again. Hudson set the Bio foam down and slowly lifted his head to the rafters above, "Oh Shit." He said as he looked upon the corpse of his commander as he dangled from the support beams, he had been hung by the neck with multiple stab wounds running across his chest and abdomen. Another set of coughing sounded from the Corporal as he tried to breathe, "We will get this guy, and he will pay for this."

Hudson said, as he stood up. A blast sounded from behind and Hudson spun around to see his fellow headhunter fly across the room and slam into the hard glass on the wall. His shields were sparking and his chest piece was smoking. Hudson ran over only to get tackled by something much bigger than himself, as they skidded to a stop he saw that the thing was the target as he lifted his hand and tried to bring his knife down on Hudson's skull, he blocked the strike with his forearm and fought to keep him from plunging the knife into his body, Assault rifle fire sprayed around the room scoring hits on both Hudson and the targets shields, looking over he could see the Corporal as he attempted to shoot at the assailant. The target took the advantage and slammed his fist into Hudson's visor before grabbing the collar piece of his armor and lifting him up, "You should have taken my offer and left." The man said as he threw Hudson across the room, sparks flew as his armor skidded across the floor before abruptly stopping as he hit the wall. Hudson was dazed but he could still hear as the assault rifle rounds died off and he could hear a scream. Slowly he got to his knees and looked over to where the Corporal had last been, the target had picked him up and was looking at him as the Corporal struggled in his grip. Then all at once the Corporal went limp and the target dropped his body on the ground, Hudson looked over to his comrade only to see him struggle to get up, he had something in his hands, "Eat this you piece of shit!" He screamed as he pulled the pin on a grenade and threw it as hard as he could towards the target.  
The target reacted with lightning speed as he spun around and grabbed the grenade in mid flight before throwing it back towards the headhunter. His ally didn't have time to react as the grenade bounced off the wall next to him before going off. The light was blinding and it tore the headhunter to shreds, the blast slammed Hudson against the wall as shrapnel pierced his body, his vision blurred and his ears were ringing. He laid on the ground head facing towards the area his ally had once been, his vision blurred most of the room but he could make out the burnt husk of the former headhunter, he could also make out a large black figure making it's way towards him, Hudson tried to get up but the shrapnel had destroyed his left arm and severely damaged one of his legs keeping him where he was as he gasped for air. The ringing in his ears dulled and he could hear the figure speaking to him, "I'm sorry this had to happen Hudson, I truly am. I gave your commander a choice, but he made the wrong one." He said as he grabbed Hudson by his collar piece and sat him up straight, the target knelt in front of him and looked into His visor, putting a hand on Hudson's shoulder before speaking, "You are a great warrior, and I wish we could have met under better circumstances." The target sighed as he let his hand fall off Hudson's shoulder.

He seemed deep in thought but after a short few moments he looked back up at Hudson, "I feel there should be some form of formality between us." He said as he grabbed his helmet and slowly slid it off. He set his helmet on the ground next to him, Hudson looked at his facial features, he looked to be in his late 20's with dark brown hair that wasn't buzzed but fairly short. His dark green eyes scanned Hudson's visor and he could make out small bright green flecks that scattered across his iris. His face wasn't hardened and aggressive like he had expected it to be, but instead a very serious expression lay across his features, he looked down and sighed, "I wish things could have been different. War is hell, and bad things happen to good people." He paused for a moment His face hardening as he looked back at Hudson, "and It's the cowards that hide behind us that should answer for this not you." He said, Hudson began to feel light, he lost feeling in his arms and legs and his breathing was becoming shallow, the targets face softened a bit and he smiled, "Your journey is not over Hudson, you will begin anew. Travel to the light my friend, you will find everlasting peace. A sanctuary away from this place." Hudson's vision began to fade as he look at his target, "My name is Castiel, and I will never forget you." Hudson smiled slightly under his helmet before letting out his last breath and fading into darkness.


	3. Chapter 3: Burdens Of The Past

Burdens of the past

Play song #1

watch?v=OnNdAp…

The sound of tires tearing through the earth rang out through the trees as the engine of the warthog roared, the ever quiet forest disrupted by the sounds of a machine being pushed to it's limits. The large dirt path that carved through the trees curved and twisted making it almost impossible for anyone to see ahead of them for more than a couple hundred yards or so. The man behind the wheel didn't seem to mind, almost careening into trees every time he made a turn, no... Only one thing was on his mind. Finding who had sent an ODST kill team after him...

Ghost checked his tac pad which he had now wired as a make shift GPS to track the ones he had been following as he slammed the pedal of the warthog to the floor sending it forward as fast as it would go. He knew they were holed up in the ONI HQ a few hundred clicks North of his position, he wanted to get there before the Highcom Officers could escape. Looking up from his tac pad Ghost's eyes widened as he gripped the wheel and spun it right. The tires tore through the earth as the vehicle slid side ways before coming to a complete stop a few feet from a few large trunks. The shocks on the hog were enough to absorb most of the thrashing but it still shook it's passenger. Ghost shook his head clearing away his disorientation, a beep sounded from his wrist, looking down he could see the blip now only a few miles ahead of him. He looked back up at the road and saw that it was a straight shot to his target.

Through the trees the path led to a large bridge that was easily two Scorpion tanks wide and extended almost a quarter mile. Ghost gripped the wheel and stepped on the gas, the warthog lurched before tearing down the dirt path. His speed and velocity increased with each passing second and the bridge was coming close. The canopy of trees still overhead small rays of sunlight leaked through as the vehicle streaked past. Distant sounds of thunder sounded off as he neared the bridge. 'Strange' He thought, 'There are no storm clouds in the area. Unless...' His thoughts were interrupted as the sounds of explosions came from ahead, the tree line was nearing fast and he could see the HQ from across the bridge. The hog tore through the tree line and screeched to a halt right as it reached the bridge. Multiple booms sounded off from everywhere as Ghost looked around, the bridge spanned across a large lake with the HQ residing in the middle on some sort of island, On the edge of the forest which made somewhat of a circle around the island, surrounding the shore line bright flashes of light shot out from the trees from all directions. Fiery explosions peppered the building in the middle as the walls of the place broke apart, although the base itself was immensely large. The outer walls surrounding the perimeter were being eradicated by the rounds firing out from the trees. Ghost stepped on the gas putting the warthog in gear as he sped towards the base. Rounds tore through the air before slamming into the base in a fiery inferno. Rubble and debris was thrown everywhere. Ghost neared the base, "I will not let these cowards escape" Ghost muttered to himself, just as he made it halfway across the bridge he heard the sound of something large ripping through air, Ghost looked to his left and a large streak of light sped through the air at impossible speeds exploding into the bridge sending his hog flying forward flipping through the air before landing with a bone crushing crunch. The hog skidded on it's side for a couple hundred yards before coming to a slow halt.

Ghost, still strapped into the seat was racked with pain. Ears were ringing and he figured a few broken ribs were in order but he could nurse his wounds later, he needed to get out of the hog. Slowly, he reached around and pressed on the button releasing the buckle that wrapped around his midsection. The drivers side was nearest to the floor so he managed to crawl out with little trouble. Reaching back into the warthog he grabbed his shot gun, attached it to the magnetic holster on his back and got to his feet. The base was still being bombarded by explosions and he knew he had to make it in there fast, he took off running towards the base closing the distance between him and the front gates. Ghost could see a few marines at the front gates running around like ants as they tried to avoid the hell that was raining down on them. A few turned and spotted Ghost as he ran towards the entrance and they mounted the turrets stationed near the front gates, loading up the large turrets they started firing at Ghost. The bullets tore through the concrete as they tried to hit their target, Ghost managing to strafe and dodge just out of reach as he neared the gates. More marines came out of from the courtyard beyond the gates and took defensive positions behind some large chunks of the wall that had fallen. Sprinting towards them Ghost saw two support beams on either side of the bridge connecting to the MG towers that the gunners were firing from. Diving forward he took cover behind one of the fallen stones just as bullets struck the ground near him. Checking his weapons he saw that he had his shotgun, a few grenades, his large knife, and his sidearm. "I promise I will return it to you." He said to no one in particular as his hand grazed over the empty sheathe on his chest. A large chunk of rock exploded off the side of his make shift bunker pulling Ghost out of his thoughts. Taking a deep breath he grabbed a grenade off his belt before vaulting over the rock and into the fray, bullets smacked into his shields causing them to flare as he neared one of the support beams, leaping into the air he landed onto the support beam on the right side of the bridge. He grabbed onto one of the poles attached to the support beam using it to propel himself forward as he ran up the beam towards one of the MG towers, pulling the pin on his grenade he threw it into the tower across the bridge before diving into the tower he was near.

Catching the marine mounted on the turret off guard Ghost pulled out his sidearm and sent two rounds to his chest and one to his head eliminating him easily. A loud boom went off behind him and he turned to see that his grenade had done it's job. Ghost then ran and leapt over the side of the tower, landing into the courtyard behind the wall of marines guarding the entrance. Side arm in hand he started firing on the soldiers, he dropped three before they realized Ghost was behind them, turning they fired their assault rifles and DMRs. Ghost fired a few more shots at them before the familiar click of an empty mag filled his ears. Ghost tossed his magnum and rolled off to the side pulling out his shot gun in mid roll. Recovering from his roll he unloaded a few rounds at the marines walking towards them as he did so. After he had killed four of them the two remaining soldiers figured it would be a smart move to dive over the chunks of wall for cover. Ghost looked at his ammo gauge and saw he only had one shot left. Quickly he slid his large combat knife out of it's sheathe and readied his shotgun, shakes of the earth and large explosions around the base let him know it was still being bombarded by Scorpion tanks. One of the marines peeked over the side only to duck back under as Ghost unloaded his last shot at their cover, he then slid his shot gun onto his back and charged forward, the same marine jumped up quickly again in an attempt to shoot Ghost but, he was too slow as the Spartan threw his knife with unbelievable speed striking the marine in the chest sending him flying backwards.

Play song #2

watch?v=wz006M…

Ghost jumped over the rubble and grabbed the front of the last marines rifle, ripping it from his hands and tossing it aside. He grabbed the marine by the collar piece of his armor and threw him towards his dead ally, the soldier rolled and slammed against a nearby rock. Ghost walked towards him only stopping to rip his knife out of the dead marine. He approached the marine and sheathed his knife, before grabbing the marine by the throat and lifting him up to meet his eyes. He was about to finish him off when what sounded like a whip cracking rang out, Ghosts shield broke and a round went through his shoulder causing him to drop the marine and fall to his knees. A large group of soldiers started pouring out of the facility, mainly marines but there were a few squads of ODSTs and headhunters that served under ONIs banner. The marine that Ghost had almost suffocated stumbled over and grabbed his rifle pointing it towards the Spartan. "Your kind is a dying race, and soon you will all be extinct. You were foolish to come here." He was about to open fire on Ghost when two long swords streaked past the base, what followed were two large projectiles fly through the air and digging themselves into the base. The marine turned to look but a bright flash and a deafening boom erased all sight and sound. The only thing Ghost could sense was that he was no longer on the ground.

Pain shot through the Spartan as he felt his body slamming into the earth twisting and turning in all sorts of directions that seemed unnatural. His body came to a slow, and eventually a stop, still blind and ears ringing he could only look into a white void. He remained like that for a long while, ears ringing, pain coursing through his body, but slowly the white void was beginning to create shapes and color. Reconstructing the world so that he could see again. Eventually he was able to see his arm stretched out on the concrete of the bridge, he tried to move his head but pain shot up and down his spine. He didn't try to move again, but instead looked at what remained of the base. A large cloud of smoke was ascending towards the now blood red sky. The entire base was engulfed in fire as bits and pieces of rock crumbled away, his ears were still ringing, though not as bad as before, he could make out the distant sound of engines roaring and a low thud of something large hitting the ground.

He tried to move his head again and found that he could do it with less pain. Turning his head towards the sound he saw a pelican, but this one seemed different from the pelicans he had seen before... This one seemed altered. It was not the standard UNSC sage that was required for all Pelicans and most vehicles, this one was jet black and looked much more ominous than it's sage colored cousin. The back hatch opened and slowly made it's way to the floor. As it reached the floor Ghost looked into the black void that was the passenger bay of the pelican, and what stepped out looked like something out of a hellish nightmare. A giant covered from head to boot in Blood red armor. Strapped to it's back was the largest gravity hammer Ghost had ever seen, easily surpassing most chieftain hammers in size and intimidation. This monster seemed to have a helmet on but an evil smile had been etched into the gold visor, and as it slowly approached him he started to get this sense of dread, the way this things armor was contrasting against the already blood red sky was creating something that looked far from human, if it weren't for his current situation he would almost have thought that he was in hell, and this was none other than the devil himself. Ghost tried to move, but his body was still immobile and in serious pain. In a matter of a few seconds, the large monster had enclosed the gap between them and now stood towering over Ghost. That face, looked as if it was savoring this moment. Relishing the chaos and destruction surrounding it and wanted nothing more than to see the universe burn just as it had here.

The creature reached out with it's massive hand and grabbed Ghost by the neck, lifting his body with one arm and bringing Ghosts visor just a little higher than it's own. Ghosts body was being tormented, so much pain all at once it was a fight to maintain consciousness, but if this was his end then he would not be put out like a dying flame, he would fight. Even if it meant fighting to stay awake... Ghosts ears had cleared and he could hear everything around him, the roar of the fire as it consumed everything in the base behind them. The whine of the engines as they eagerly waited to return to the sky. Ghost focused on the gold visor of the beast as it started to speak, "He said you would be here, although I expected much more than what dangles before me." A deep Russian accent was embedded in those words, and in a way it suited this monstrosity. It looked like something created in a war factory during humanities Second World war on earth. Ghosts vision started to fade as the things grip tightened around his throat, "Return to the darkness little rat, and when you awaken... You will wish you were never born." Ghost couldn't even think anymore, there was no oxygen reaching his brain and soon he fell into the black oblivion that was unconsciousness.


	4. Chapter 4: Shadow Of Death Part I

Into the valley of the Shadow of Death.  
Part I

watch?v=4NtQwT…

Blood dripped from Ghosts face as his head hung, he had been chained to a cement wall with the same chains they used to anchor ships, his helmet had been tarnished and was laying on the floor cracked and destroyed. His chest piece was burnt beyond repair and was lying in a pile along with his shoulder pads. The only things he had on were his armored leggings and his boots along with his black jump suit that all Spartans wore underneath their armor. His body was numb. He could no longer feel anything, he had been put through a meat grinder and spat back out into the darkest pit of hell.

"How long has he been out?" A feminine voice sounded through the darkness.

"Long, enough. I'm surprised he hasn't succumbed already." A deep voice responded, Ghost remembered that voice, he couldn't place who it belonged to but it was familiar to him.

"He wouldn't succumb, he is stronger than you think." The feminine voice stated.

The deep voice chuckled, "I don't care how strong the rat is, everything has a breaking point. Besides, once we are ready to move out he's a dead man." A series of flashes broke through the darkness as Ghost recollected what happened.

He was on a bridge, fire and smoke surrounding him, a giant behemoth held him by his throat as it spoke to him, "Return to the darkness little rat, and when you awaken... You will wish you were never born." All at once, Ghost was returned to darkness. It was the giant that had been with him on the bridge, that is who this voice belonged to... 'But who was this other person?' He questioned. The heavy thud of boots hitting the floor drew near, and Ghost could hear both of them stiffen and grow quiet, "Is he ready?" A new voice entered the room, he did not know this voice but it carried an authoritative sense about it. "He has been out cold for the past eight hours, I'm not even sure he's still alive." The deep voice replied,

"He is alive, and he will remain alive until I have given him permission to die." The voice said unwavering. Someone started walking towards him, and stopped just a few feet away. He could feel eyes on him, a burning sensation told him all of them were staring at him. Ghost felt something grab his face, but there seemed to be some sort of fabric between him and the thing grabbing his face. Then, as if someone decided to turn on the light switch, Ghost was blinded by a series of bright lights, it hurt his eyes and his vision was blurry. The figure in front of him took a few steps back and waited. Everything was slow moving, but the lights had dimmed a little since his initial awakening. "Good, you're awake. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Trident, Current leader of the Insurrectionist forces, and as of right now I hold the key to your existence." Ghosts vision was slowly returning to normal and he could get a better view of his captors, the man that stood in front of him was the one that called himself "Trident" He appeared to be wearing Spartan IV armor variants, but alterations had been made. This armor was Jet black with blood red as a secondary. He was wearing a basic UNSC Spartan IV Recruit helmet, but instead of a blue visor, red took it's place. Looking him up and down, Ghost noticed a dark red trident plastered on the left side of his chest plate.

He had an arrogance about him that radiated off in waves, and it troubled Ghost to think that one being could produce so much self pride, "The large man standing behind me is the one that brought you here, he is known as BloodLetter." Ghost looked to the creature that brought him here, 'so it was a man and not a beast?' He thought to himself. The giant walked past Trident and stood in front of Ghost, "If it weren't for him I'd have strung you up by your entrails, but he has bigger plans for you." He grabbed Ghost by the throat and hauled him up, the chains rattling as he did so. "You are a pathetic excuse for a II, It's a wonder you have survived this long." He said as he released Ghost and watched as his body lurched, but was held up by the heavy chains. Chuckling he slowly made his way back to where he stood. Trident looked at BloodLetter for a moment before turning his gaze back to Ghost, "Now that you two have been Properly introduced, I can continue with my plans." A sharp cough interrupted Trident as he looked to his right, a Spartan with feminine appearance stood with her arms crossed as she looked back to Trident, she was wearing armor with similar appearance to a freelancer he had worked with, one he had trained... "Noble?" Ghost struggled to say, it came out more of a raspy whisper but it was still audible. The Spartan laughed as if Ghost had made some sort of joke, she stepped forward entering the light, Her colors changed, from that of Steel and Cyan to Orchid and Teal. "Close, but no..." She said as she sauntered over to him slowly, using two fingers to lift his chin so that he had to look at her, "Apart from the fact I am better looking than all of your little friends, I am also much more skilled than them, especially your little student." She said with malice as she let his head drop. She walked back to the same dark area she had inhabited before and stood there, "Yes... This is Kara, my apprentice and current assassin for the Insurrectionists." Trident said, "Thats enough of the introductions, and I want to make one thing clear before we begin." He said as he walked towards Ghost, taking a knee and looking him in the eyes.

"This universe we find ourselves in, is nothing more than a large chess board, with ONI, the UNSC, and the sangheili forces as the players. What they fail to realize is that a new player has emerged, and those that think they are in control are merely pawns to my plans. They have made their choices, made their moves and now..." He paused as if to let Ghost think about what he just said,

"It's my turn to make the moves, I have waited a long time, planned everything out. Collected all resources required to make this possible. Now, nothing will stand in my way. You see Castiel, I know who you are, I know who your friends are, I know everything about you. I know everything there is to know about anything in this pathetic universe we call home, ONI and their futile attempts to silence me have done nothing but further our cause and bring us close to our victory."

He looked at the battered Spartan, for a moment as if contemplating wether or not Castiel truly understood what he was saying,

"I can tell you now... No one will stand in my way. Not you, not ONI or the other factions that find themselves in this game, not even God himself can stop me from my goal."

Standing up, Trident took a moment to look down at something he was holding in his hand. He tapped it a few times and received a beep in response, "As much as I have enjoyed this little talk, we must get going with this. You play a valuable role in my next move and we cannot keep the game waiting..." He turned and walked over to what looked like a computer screen, the green light covering Trident in a sickly green color as he approached it. He turned his head slightly back towards Castiel, "Let us begin." He turned his head back to the screen and placed the little pad in his hand on the panel below the screen.

watch?v=RgFiB3…

POV: Computer systems.

Systems Online.

Current User login.

TRIDENT

Password [******]

Access granted.

Recording systems active.

Broadcasting live feed to - ONI HighCom, UNSC HighCom, Freelancer Directory.

All systems within these programs will override and receive log.

Activating override.

Systems responding.

Begin Recording Log.

Start time 0:00:01

The computer captured all within the room, Trident stood facing the screen just a few feet away, a large figure could be seen chained to a wall in the background.

"What is life but a black void of anguish and despair? The foolishness and stupidity that lies within all of you make you blind to what this universe truly is. I have seen this truth, and knowing what I must do has led me to this."

Trident paused for a moment, holding his gaze on the screen as if savoring the moment,

"The leadership of your militaries is disgusting and cowardly, they are rats deserving of nothing more than the heel of my boot, and I will be damned if I let those parasites continue to live another second in my presence."

He chuckled a bit, and turned his head slightly as if to look at the man strapped to the wall,

"For those of you that find safety and security behind the Director and his web of lies, I have no pity for you. You fools put your faith in false prophets, and weak leaders, all of you are nothing more than dust in the wind, fading away into the darkness you refuse to believe is there."

He turned back to the screen, "The darkness is very real, and it will soon consume all hope and good in this universe, leaving nothing but eternal fear and despair for those who are weak."

"I will show you that your leaders will only guide you to your execution."

Trident side stepped and allowed the camera to focus on the chained figure, "Take a good long look, does this man look familiar?" The man was hanging from the wall, blood dripped from his face and wounds onto the floor forming a small puddle beneath him.

"Some of you may have once looked to him as a source of hope, someone with a sturdy resolve that cannot be shaken easily... As Agents of the Freelancer program I see that you are fast, that you are strong, that you seem unstoppable, some might even say invincible... Yet you rely too heavily on one another for support, that is weakness and to prove this to you I have with me one of your own."

He looked to the man and lifted his hand, "This is Castiel, most of you may know him as Agent Ghost. This is nothing more than a man, no matter how highly you think of him, and just like any man he too, can bleed."

Trident motioned to someone and in a few short seconds, a large figure clad in crimson walked up to Castiel, and with one quick motion unsheathed his combat knife and slashed the Spartan across the chest. Castiel groaned as blood started flowing down his front, the large behemoth simply slid his knife back into it's sheathe and walked back out of camera shot. Trident looked back towards the screen, "You all that think you can escape Death? I will tell you now, that before this is done, I will stand before your corpses and laugh. For I am Death, and I will decide who lives and who dies."

With those words, Trident pulled his magnum out of his holster, turned and raised his weapon, pointing it at Castiel. Castiel looked straight at him, blood caked his face making it impossible to identify any features, but his eyes were locked to Tridents visor. His gaze was hard and unwavering as his executioner stood there weapon raised and aimed straight at his heart, Trident stood there for a moment, an evil grin spread under his helmeted features, and he snickered as the injured Spartan continued to stare down his own fate, his dark green eyes never leaving Trident. "Even when facing Death, you still persist... A quality that not many men have left, considered brave by most... Brave indeed, but foolish. Goodbye Castiel, may you wander in the valley of the shadow of death for eternity." Trident squeezed the trigger, and a bullet fired out of the chamber, the noise was enough to muffle the audio on the camera for a few seconds. The bullet buried itself deep into Castiels chest, his gaze started to lose what little life was left in them and his head dropped. Everything became quiet as the camera struggled to maintain it's regular audio, Trident lowered his gun and holstered it as if he had just finished target practice.

He turned to face the screen walking forward until he was at the control panel, "I am Death, I am the executioner, I am the Reaper, and you will all be consumed by the fire that burns inside of my soul." The transmission ended with the blood red of Tridents visor as it glowed in the faint light within the room.

Transmission End.

Live Feed successfully broadcast to all sources.

Computer Systems Offline.

Trident shut down the computer systems as BloodLetter and Kara walked up behind him, "What's our next move?" Kara asked, Trident turned to face them both, the light reflecting off his visor making it burn as everything else darkened around him, "Now that our pawns are in place, we can focus on moving the Knights into position." They looked at him confused, "Knights sir?" Kara asked, "Yes Kara, the Knights. The fleets under our command will do as instructed and begin their assaults."

Trident turned to exit the room, "Do you think that the death of one man will do anything to anger the Freelancers?" BloodLetter asked, Trident looked towards the fallen Spartan. "Oh it will do more than anger them, they will feel as if a piece of themselves has been torn from their chest. As I said before, they rely too heavily on each other, if you kill one, they all become weak. They will deteriorate from the inside, and when that happens we will let the Sangheili finish them off."

Trident turned his head and looked back to the two of them, "Everything will go exactly as I have planned." He said, before exiting the room leaving the place in dead silence.


	5. Chapter 5: Shadow Of Death Part II

div class="dev-view-deviation" style="position: relative; z-index: 5; margin-right: 342px; min-height: 200px; text-align: center;"  
div class="journal-wrapper tt-a dwait_stream" style="margin: 0px auto 8px; text-align: left;" data-gmiclass="DuperbrowseFreeformCustomStream" data-sigil="journal-wrapper"  
div class="journal-wrapper2"  
div id="dev424445938" class="journal journal-green journalcontrol free-literature" style="position: relative; overflow: hidden; margin: 10px 0px 0px; visibility: visible;"  
div id="devskin"  
div class="negate-box-margin"  
div class="gr-box gr-genericbox" style="margin: 0px; zoom: 1; position: relative; overflow: hidden; border: 1px solid #bdc8bc; background: #fffffa; padding: 15px 0px;"  
div class="gr-body" style="border: 0px; overflow: hidden; word-break: break-word; background: transparent; zoom: 1; position: relative;"  
div class="gr" style="border: 0px;"  
div class="grf-indent"  
div class="text" style="padding: 15px 15px 37px 33px; margin: 0px auto; line-height: 1.5em; font-size: 13px; z-index: 20; position: relative; overflow-wrap: break-word;"Into the Valley of the Shadow of Death Part /br /br /br /br /Plat song 1: a class="external" style="text-decoration-line: underline; color: #2c3635; zoom: 1; display: inline-block;" href=" users/outgoing? watch?v=Fiq-AC934V4" watch?v=Fiq-AC…/abr /br /br /Castiel was jolted awake, he sat up straight unsure of what had just happened. One moment he was suffering in what seemed to be the darkest pit of hell, then a flash of light, searing pain, and darkness. That was the last thing Castiel had remembered. Looking around, he noticed he was no longer in the bowels of some facility or ship, but laying on a dirt path. Large expanses of what looked like wheat on either side of him, looking up he could see grey storm clouds covering the sky obscuring any sunlight that attempted to break through the grey barrier. "Is this heaven? Or is it hell?" He said aloud to no one in particular. Slowly standing up he took a moment to asses his injuries, but to his surprise found none, he was still wearing his black jump suit with his leggings and boots but the rest of his armor was no where to be found. The slash that he had received right before Trident put a bullet through his heart was gone, his suit wasn't even damaged. The bullet hole itself was gone too, no damage, no hole in his suit, nothing. br /br /br /"I guess I take the last thing I was wearing to... Where ever it is I am and leave behind all bodily harm?" He was confused but he didn't question further, he needed to figure out where he was and why he was here. Looking to his left he saw that the dirt path extended for a few miles before disappearing into the large mountains in the distance. Looking to his right, the dirt path seemed to extend forever, he couldn't see anything but the vast grey sky and wheat fields. Deciding to take the path that at least held the possibility of some sort of shelter he started his trek to the mountains. "I hope the rest of the Freelancers are faring well." He said starting to worry about what would happen when they found out that he had been killed, "I need to find out what this place is, or if it has any other form of life. Maybe, I can find more answers beyond the mountains." He said looking towards his /br /br /His journey was long, and although the scenery didn't change much it gave him some time to think, "There was still so much I had to do, still so much I had to figure out. Why now? What was the purpose of being ripped from the world I knew? Only to be brought to this strange place." He had made it to the base of the mountains the wheat fields became distant and was soon replaced with dirt, gravel and a few dead trees. Castiel continued on through the mountain pass in hopes of finding something on the other side. br /br /br /As he traveled through the rocky pass of the mountains the winds that blew through the rocky crags sounded almost like voices whispering a never ending inaudible set of words. However, through all the whispering voices, one rang clear in Castiel's mind. br /br /"You left behind those you knew, those you cared about, and for what?" br /br /He shook his head in an attempt to throw the voices out, it seemed to work because as he reached what seemed to be the peak the voices subsided. "All right, lets see what we can find." He said as he gazed out upon the vast grey valley that lay before him. Turning around to look at the fields he had come from, he was surprised to find that nothing but vast mountains and never ending grey sky had taken it's place, "Where the hell am I?" he questioned the air as he turned back to look at the valley. br /br /br /A sharp ringing interrupted his thoughts, he tried to cover his ears as the sharp piercing noise grew louder but it was no use, the ringing seemed to be /br /"Go to the Tree of Souls, and you will find the answers that you seek."br /br /Words seemed to echo through his mind as the ringing started to subside, he shook his head, looking back towards the valley below. He looked for any path that might lead down when he heard the shifting of loose gravel behind him, spinning around he saw what looked like a Spartan coming up over the side of the mountain he was on. "You there! Do you know where we are?" Castiel asked, the figure looked up. "So I'm not the only one here after all, well thats good." The man said as he climbed to the top and stood next to Castiel, "Who are you, and what is this place?" Castiel asked, as the man looked out towards the valley. He looked back to Castiel, his visor covering any facial expression, "My names Marcus, though I was once known as Omega, and as far as knowing where we are I haven't got a damn clue." br /br /Castiel nodded, "I figured as much." He paused for a moment before continuing. "So how'd you get here?" He asked Marcus,br /br /He sighed and looked to the ground for a moment, and then at Castiel, "I was stabbed repeatedly, then left to bleed out."br /br /br /Castiel winced a little bit, "Thats unfortunate."br /br /br / Marcus looked to the sky, "Indeed"br /br /"It's sad really, I feel as though I left that world before my job was done."br /br /Castiel nodded to him, "I know what you mean, I left during what seemed to be the rising of power for the insurrectionists, and an evil power at that."br /br /br /"If you don't mind me asking, how'd you get here?" Marcus /br /"I was on my way to pay a visit to ONI for sending a kill team after me when their facility was bombarded, then I was taken to some strange dark place where I was beaten to the brink of death. After that I was broadcasted live to anyone I have ever known, and they had to sit and watch as this guy put a bullet through my heart."br /br /br /Marcus stared at him for a moment, "Wow, that seems intense."br /br /br /"All in the life of an Assassin I guess, fight in the shadows to serve the light. Sometimes we die in the shadows, and the light that we strive to protect stays as far away from our line of work as possible."br /br /br /After that, both became quiet for some time, just staring out into the grey mass of /br /br /br /"I hope that the ones I care about are safe." Marcus said half to himself, "Noble's gonna kill me when she finds out."br /br /br /Castiel raised an eyebrow, "Wait, you mean Agent Noble right?"br /br /br /Marcus looked to him, "Yeah, you know her?"br /br /"I wouldn't call her an acquaintance, we've kind of been through a lot together. She was my apprentice before this happened."br /br /br /"Ah, I see." Marcus stated as he looked back to the valley, "She was one I cared for deeply, and now that I'm gone I can't imagine what she's going through."br /br /br /"I know what you mean, sadly it's happened to me on more than one occasion, except I was the one to be left behind." Castiel said as he remembered back to his close friends and allies, Marcus looked at him and patted him on the back a few times. "I'm sorry for your loss, but we must continue to move forward."br /br /Castiel nodded, "Agreed, now lets find a way off this mountain."br /br /br /"As much as I want to stay close to the only other thing out here that, '"Was"' alive, I feel as if I need to continue on my own, I hope you understand." Marcus said as Castiel started moving down the mountain /br /"If that is what you feel you should do, then pursue it. Should you look for me, I will be down there." He pointed to the foggy valley /br /"It was good to see you, and I hope you find what your looking for." Castiel /br /Marcus nodded to him, "You to good luck." With that, both soldiers went their separate ways. Castiel wondered if he would see Marcus again, or anyone else that found themselves lost in this place. br /br /br /Play song 2: a class="external" style="text-decoration-line: underline; color: #2c3635; zoom: 1; display: inline-block;" href=" users/outgoing? watch?v=bGym5_Kr4zY" watch?v=bGym5_…/abr /br /(When song two ends play song 3 unless you manage to read fast enough to get the full song with the writing.) br /br /Song 3: a class="external" style="text-decoration-line: underline; color: #2c3635; zoom: 1; display: inline-block;" href=" users/outgoing? watch?v=UPzZSZ_5dnM" watch?v=UPzZSZ…/abr /br /br /When Castiel finally made it to the base of the mountain, everything became much more dreary and cold. Although he was a Spartan and trained to withstand conditions like this, the cold winds that blew through this valley chilled even him to the bone. As he walked he took a look around, the place was dead, trees scorched, bushes torn from their roots and blowing about in the wind, even the rocks looked /He could hear screeching and the distant sounds of something large roaring in the air, not wanting to find out what was the owner of those noises he continued into the fog. Eventually coming across a lone tree, this one seemed to be larger than the others however, branches twisting in all sorts of directions, it was as if the branches ended into long twisted fingers reaching out to grab anything close and pull it into the darkness for eternity. br /br /br /br /"We have existed long before time began, before all sentient life was created. Long before the universe you knew was born and you were brought forth into being."br /br / A deep unnatural voice sounded from all around him, he couldn't make out exactly which direction it was coming from but it was almost as if the voice was emanating from the dead tree /br /"We are infinite, you cannot even begin to understand the amount of power we posses."br /br /The voice echoed again, only more defined and Castiel could pinpoint exactly where it was coming from. He looked at the tree, it's figure seemed to move; to grow and loom over him like a large shadow casting out over the /br /br / br /"And yet... You do not know who we are, that we even existed. Any memory of us long forgotten, or lost in ancient scripture and legend... Now only few know of us, and even fewer know of our power."br /br /Castiel was confused, what was this thing? Where was it coming from? "What is this power you speak of? Who are you, or better yet what are you? And where am I?" A booming thunderous laugh echoed around Castiel, drowning out all other /br /"As devout as you are and still you have no concept of anything. I am the Keeper of the gates of Heaven and Hell. Only those that I have allowed will make it to the fate that awaits them." It responded, "Wait, so if this isn't Heaven, and this isn't Hell, then this could only be one other place." He said to himself, the entity however seemed to hear him and responded, br /br /"You are in my domain Mortal, this is The Valley of The Shadow of Death. Though you may know it as Purgatory. Land of the forgotten, and home to the lost souls that have yet to find their way." Castiel could see now that the branches had bent and twisted in unnatural ways, and were now forming what looked like an archway of tangled twisted bark and deadwood. "So if this is Purgatory, then why am I here? Surely the keeper of souls would have passed judgement to me by now?"br /br /br /br /The voice made a low growl as if angered by his words, "You are here because I have need of you mortal, and this is your only chance to redeem what you lost."br /br /br /Castiel was confused by his words, "What use would I be of to you? And how could I redeem something when I don't know what it is I have lost?"br /br /The entity seemed to grow frustrated. Castiel could feel the tension in the cold air, "Mortal, your questioning is thinning my patience, I can bring you back to your world. I can give you the second chance to defeat your enemies... If you will but help me defeat mine."br /br /br /The archway seemed to darken, creating a black void that sucked in all light near it. "How could you bring me back? I don't see how that could even be possible. Once your dead your dead, aren't you?"br /br /The void started forming and a tall figure seemed to be manifesting itself within the darkness, "I am The Shadow of Death! Everything you see before you was of my creation! I could send you to the fires of hell, or eradicate your very soul. I have the power to resurrect! The power to give life and take it away!" The voice boomed through the void, before lowering to a deep growl, "But it will come at a cost."br /br /br /br /Castiel thought of what the entity spoke of, unsure of everything. He was dead, but this thing was offering to bring him back? Was that even possible? br /br /"What cost?" br /br /br /"The mergence of our souls, we must bind our souls together so that you may be reborn into the realm of the living." It said darkly. By now, the figure had completely surpassed the size of the great dead tree and was now starting to become visible within the darkness. Castiel was afraid, not because of the entity before him, or the fact that he didn't know what would happen to him if he accepted, what he was afraid of was allowing something like this to enter the world he once knew. "How can I trust you? How do I know that this isn't just some trick to get me to surrender my soul to some demonic force, or to unleash something upon my world?" br /br /br /The figure finally stepped out of the darkness revealing it's true form, the figure was large, a hood draped over it's head to conceal itself, the darkness preventing Castiel from being able to make out any features of it's face. In one hand it grasped a large scythe, far taller than itself. The blade curved off into a point, shimmering as the fog surrounded it. A large chain ran from it's shoulder to it's waist, and hooked to the end was a large unlit /br /"You don't... But I am no demon, those foul creatures cannot enter here and the only way you would meet one of those is if I cast you to Hell for which there is no return..."br /br /br /br /Castiel was in conflict with himself about this decision. On one hand, the idea of possibly being able to return to the realm of the living to protect his friends from the threat of the man Trident sounded unreal and the possibility to stop the evil from spreading would save the universe. On the other, this entity could be trying to trick him into relinquishing his soul to this creature, or worse... The damnation of his /br /br /"What if I say yes to this? What happens then?" He asked the creature. It knelt down as if to minimize the amount of terror and fear it was emitting... It didn't help. br /br /"Then you will be given the power to defeat the one who sent you here, but the cost is your mortality. To some it is a gift. To others, a curse... But it is the only way you can save your universe from burning in hellfire... It is the only way you can live again."br /br /br /Castiel closed his eyes and thought a long time about the offer he had been given. It felt as if a whole new weight had been added to his shoulders and it was threatening to crush his very existence... When he opened his eyes, all uncertainty had left them. Replaced with determination and a sturdy resolve. He looked up to the looming figure and with a confident aura he said, "I accept." The figure lifted it's large arm towards Castiel, bringing it's index finger closer and closer to Castiel's chest. The creature had no flesh, it was just thick bone, and when it touched him over his heart the response was immediate, searing burning pain centered itself in that single point. It felt as though all the fires in the universe were focused on that one spot on his chest, he cried out in pain as he struggled to stand. Slowly, the being before him began to fade, as did everything else around him. It continued to do so until there was nothing left but the familiar void of darkness filling his vision. "Let this be known, the day you were bestowed the Mark of The Reaper..." The deep voice of the entity sounded in the darkness, "We are one soul now, one being that cannot be parted."br /br /The pain began to subside though still greatly intense leaving him drowsy and drained of energy, "On this day you will be reborn, from this day forward you are now Immortal."br /br /br /Castiel's mind faded into darkness with those final words, and soon it overtook his entire existence./div  
/div  
/div  
/div  
/div  
/div  
/div  
/div  
/div  
/div  
/div  
div class="dev-view-about" style="position: relative; z-index: 1; margin-right: 342px; min-height: 360px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 1px;"  
div class="dev-about-bg-border" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; background-color: #dae5d6;"  
div class="dev-about-bg-gradient" /div  
/div  
div class="dev-view-about-content" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; background-color: #dae5d6;"  
div class="dev-title-container " /div  
/div  
/div 


	6. Chapter 6: Marked One

Marked One.

Play song #1 watch?v=AbZHwt…

POV: Unknown

Strange, this man has gone through untold amounts of horror. Yet he still persists... In the midst of Death, he found life... When his advisories struck him down he rose again... This can only mean one thing... They have chosen their marked one, and I am to guide him...

Castiel jolted awake, a glimmer of light shinning slightly on his face as his eyes adjusted to the darkened area around him. He put his hand up to cover the light from his eyes, "Ah, you are awake." Castiel looked around for the voice, finding the person near what used to be a small fire pit.

"Where am I?" He asked, looking at himself to see if he still had the injuries he obtained from when he was held captive, he noted he still had on his jump suit, but the rest of his armor was gone. "You are in the Northern Province of Caelum, it has been a while since you have been home hasn't it Castiel?"

Castiel stopped assessing himself when he heard the name of his home world. So many years had passed since he had seen it's surface, felt the warmth of it's sun across his face, and seen those he cared about. Caelum was one of the few colony worlds not attacked by the covenant, he always assumed it was the grace of God that saved his home. "Who are you? How did I get to Caelum?"

The man chuckled as the thin wisps of smoke from the recently doused fire concealed his face, "I found you, and I brought you here. Caeruleus had killed you in an attempt to silence the only thing that could stand in his way." Castiel stood up and started to walk towards the man. "Walking so soon? You only just got out of the Valley and already you seek to move forward?"

Castiel stopped, staring at the figure, behind him was what appeared to be the opening of a cave, but covering it was some sort of fur like material. "I've gone through worse, now how do I get out of here? I need to get back to my allies before it's too late."

The figure laughed again, this time standing up. From what Castiel could tell he seemed to fit the criteria of a Spartan-III the armor variants looked to be that of a reconnaissance commando, the color fit that of a northern snow like terrain. It was all white with black accents running down his arms. It was too dark to distinguish his face though, "I doubt you have experienced anything like the Reaper Castiel, your body may have gone through harsher experiences, but your soul will forever be changed." He stepped towards the covering, "Before you can get back to your allies, there is something you must see."

He turned and moved the covering out of the way, which allowed beams of light to cut through the darkness of the cave. Castiel put his hand up to shield his eyes, the man walked outside and the covering fell back into place plunging the area back into complete darkness. Castiel grunted, "Well I'm not going to get anywhere by standing here am I?" He walked forward and grabbed the covering, moving it out of the way and exiting the cave. All at once his eyes were bombarded by light, he covered his eyes as they attempted to adjust to the outside world, from where he was standing he could see a good over view of the land, the sun seemed to be an hour or so from sun set, though the way they were positioned allowed most of it's light to be directed on their location. They were on what looked like the side of a mountain, overlooking a vast pine forest. However, this mountain spread across and formed a range that curved into the shape of a horse shoe, which secluded a small section of trees from the rest of the snowy landscape. Looking to his right he could see the man standing just a few feet away gazing out into the forest. Now that he could see clearly he could make out the man in more detail, he was tall, not as tall as Castiel but still bigger than the average human. From his size and the armor he was wearing he looked more like a Spartan-III, his helmet was that of recon variants and a black visor glinted in the sun. "So Castiel, do you want me to show you where you'll be staying?" The man said still looking out over the forest. He was taken aback, "What makes you think I'm staying here?" He said, the man just chuckled, he turned his head slightly so it appeared he was glancing at Castiel, "I know how to get off this planet, and unless you are going to walk thousands of miles to the nearest air and space field I suggest you stay here until we get this figured out."

Castiel didn't want to stay here but what choice did he have? He wouldn't survive this cold without his armor and he was offering a safe haven for him to stay. "Well, I suppose I could stay, just until I find my bearings and a map." He turned towards Castiel, "Excellent! Follow me and I'll take you to camp." With that he stepped off the ledge and slid down the side of the mountain. Castiel sat there for a moment mouth slightly agape, he shook his head and mumbled a few words to himself before trying to recreate the same thing he saw the man do.

*A few moments later*

The Spartan clad in white skidded to a stop and stood there at the tree line waiting for Castiel to descend; However, on the way down Castiel must've lost his balance because the next thing he sees is Castiel tumbling down the side of a snowy mountain managing to strike every rock and bush in his way before crashing into a thick pine tree, halting any further momentum.

The man sighed and walked up to Castiel, the thin layer of snow and small pine needles crunching under his boots. He stopped just inches from Castiel and looked down at him, "You know, for being trained by the Order you would think one would have the simple skill of keeping their balance." Castiel merely groaned in response as he tried to get to his knees. A gauntleted hand reached down to offer support. He looked at it for a moment, then up to the man before slowly taking it. Helping Castiel to his feet he brushed the snow off his chest and face. "Follow me Castiel, I have much to show you." He said as he started walking into the forest. Castiel shook his head and started to follow him,

Play song #2 watch?v=qD8OnP…

"So... What is your name?" Castiel asked, the man was silent for a moment as they continued to walk through the trees, the foliage starting to become more and more dense as they went further in. "I have many names, Reaper, White Death, Mentor, Samurai, Ronin..." He seemed to linger with that last word, as if it took him to a place he didn't want to be. "All those names are just titles however, they have no meaning to me. I go by my own name, and that of my Reaper." He said as he shook himself out of his thoughts. Castiel nodded, more to himself than the man he walked next to. "You can call me Kai."

"So what are the Reapers? I mean other than the children of Death and the harvesters of human and other living creatures souls."

He laughed a little at that, "Well Castiel, Reapers are so much more. Yet so shrouded in mystery that it would take centuries just to understand what their purpose is." He said as he pushed through some shrubbery blocking the snowy path, "We as mortals only become Reapers once we have been given the Mark of the Reaper, but Reapers themselves as I'm sure yours has explained to you, are immortal entities that have existed since the beginning of time, or at least since the beginning of their time, which was a millennium before humans were first created." He paused and looked back to see if Castiel was still following him before continuing on,

"Next to the Precursors and lesser Gods, they are the most powerful things the universe has ever known. Yet, for such a powerful race of beings, they aren't known other than in the ancient lore of various Religious beliefs, and those that have seen them first hand."

"Like us?" Castiel asked, Kai nodded in return,

"Yes, like us. The mortals chosen by the Reapers to harvest the souls of mortals in exchange for great power. You see, Reapers are not allowed to venture into the realm of the living without a host, as charged by their creator so that they do not purge the entire universe of all mortal souls. Consuming them and transferring their energy to Death himself, and then beyond..." Faint lights could be seen through the trees but they were still far enough away that they couldn't make anything out, "Only seven can exist on the plane of the living at one time, and those seven must be chosen by Death to venture to the living realm, the thing is. They must first have a willing host, that will allow them passage. If the host accepts, the Reaper then begins what we call "The Bind" Which fuses our soul to the soul of the Reaper. Once this process has been finished, the Reaper and the mortal become one. Forever bound by the mergence of their souls." He said, pausing for a moment before continuing on,

"From then on, one cannot exist without the other. The Reaper cannot be killed without killing the mortal, and the mortal cannot be killed without killing the Reaper." He stopped to check a pine tree that seemed a little distant from the rest of the trees in the area. He gently put his hand on the surface of the bark, staying in that position of stillness, when he removed his hand Castiel saw a mark etched into the bark. Kai started moving again, passing the lone tree and continuing forward, Castiel following close behind. Only glancing at the mark etched into the tree. It looked like a human hand print, and in the center of the palm etched into the wood was a small skull, elongated bony wings protruding from behind it.

Castiel looked at it for a moment, and then realizing that Kai was walking away without him, started up walking again trying to catch up to the man, "So what does the Reaper mean by power? When I was in the Valley, he spoke of this ancient power that would be revealed to me. I do not understand this." Castiel asked,

"That power you will come to know soon enough, it is one of the many promises given to the mortal when the bind occurs." Kai said,

"Along with, Immortality, and immunity to all forms of disease and infections, we are given what we Marked Ones have come to know as '"awareness"' though the Reapers seem to call it something in their Old Tongue, I have not been able to decipher their language, for it is not of this realm, and although I have had a long time to do so, I have found it nearly impossible to locate any written form of Reaper language."

Breaking through most of the thick tree line the trees themselves started to thin out and spread away from each other with each passing step, what looked like a small collection of huts and tents could be seen in the distance. "So what is this Awareness? What does it represent, and how do we access it?" Castiel asked as they got closer to the collection of huts and tents. Kai merely glanced back at him before continuing on, "It allows us to predict the movements of our enemies before they know what they are doing, it also allows us for increased reaction time and with each soul taken, we grow stronger. To the point we can predict almost anything an adversary could throw at us." He stopped to turn and look at Castiel, "Caeruleus has taken many souls for his Reaper, and he has grown stronger because of it. When you fight him, you will need all the strength you can muster." With a wave of his hand he motioned for Castiel to follow, "I want you to meet my brothers and sisters."

Castiel was a little confused by this but he didn't question as they entered the area. It was all quiet, aside from the slight breeze blowing through the trees hardly anything made a sound. That was until the wooden door of a hut burst open and out came an excited little girl, "Master Kai's back!" She exclaimed and soon other doors and tents started to open and more people came into view. Kai laughed a little bit as the little girl ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, she looked like a fragile a little thing, fair skin, light brown hair that ended at her shoulder blades, bright blue eyes that seemed to shine with excitement, and a warm smile that only a child could have. "We missed you soooo much! You were gone for so long we didn't know what happened to you." She said in a concerned tone, the girl couldn't have been more than eight or nine.

Kai knelt down so that he was at eye level with her, "I know Kalani, and for that I am sorry, but I have returned. There is nothing to worry about any more." He said as he brought her in for a hug. Kalani smiled and hugged him back, before looking behind Kai and staring at Castiel, she must've just noticed that Castiel was there because her eyes widened a bit as she saw him, "W-who is that?" She asked breaking the hug from Kai and staring at Castiel, Kai looked back to him, "He is a friend of mine, don't worry he's a good man, he will be staying with us for a while."

She was still uncertain of Castiel but she didn't question Kai further. Castiel noticed that more and more people had gathered near to get a better look at the newcomer.

A man dressed in attire similar to Castiel's temple attire approached them, he was a broad man. Average size for a human, with black hair, light green eyes and olive skin, "Master Kai." He bowed before looking to Castiel, "I see you have brought someone new."

Kai nodded as he returned the gesture, "Yes Haneul, this is Castiel. A great warrior, one who shares the same enemy we do." Haneul stiffened slightly, "So Caeruleus has acted out his plans then?"

Kai nodded, "Yes, and the time has come for us to do the same. Our friend here has been given the Mark, and he has yet to obtain his full potential." Haneul looked to Castiel, both uncertainty and optimism spread across his features. "Another Reaper? If he fights for our cause, or a cause that's just then thats good enough for me." He said smiling, looking back towards the rest of the people he could see many different faces, all holding the same curiosity that Haneul had moments ago.

"First things first." Kai said as he turned to Castiel, "We need to get you a change of attire. That jump suit won't help you out here, not without your armor." He said as he tapped a few buttons on this strange device on his wrist, in a moment his entire suit started to come apart and fold into itself in small nano fragments. Castiel couldn't believe what he was seeing, the suit was actually taking itself apart and storing it in what looked like an armor ability module resting on Kai's lower back. Once that was done he could see Kai's face clearly for the first time. He looked to be oriental in appearance, probably from Japanese heritage. He had somehow managed to secure clothing underneath his jump suit because he was now wearing the same light weight attire Haneul and the others were wearing, "I can show you where you will be fitted for your clothes."

"Fitted?" Castiel asked, as he started to follow Kai through the small crowd of people, "Yes fitted Castiel, your not exactly a one size fits all type of guy." He said somewhat sarcastically, Castiel walked past the people, aware that all eyes were on him, it felt as if they were burning holes through his jump suit. He looked to the trees beyond the camp site and saw a figure, she was female, that he could see, and she was concealing her face behind a hood and face mask. She stayed far enough away that she didn't draw attention, but he could tell she was watching him intently. Snapping himself back to what Kai was saying to him, he tried to focus, "Did you hear me Castiel?" Kai asked. "Uh, sorry something about the attire?" Kai sighed, "You need to pay more attention, I was telling you that in order to survive the cold out here we use a specific kind of fabric to keep our bodies insulated. It may not look like a lot, but you'll be thanking me when you have it." Kai said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Making it to a rather large hut, Kai opened the wooden door allowing Castiel to squeeze through, as he entered he saw the many different kinds of what looked to be Temple guardian robes, light, durable, and made for maneuverability, "I feel as if I have seen this type of fabric before. A long time ago..." Castiel trailed off as he thought about it. "You have seen these before, different in design but the same materials. A combination of enhanced spider silk, ballistic nylon, Kevlar, and some other materials that can only be found here in Caelum." Castiel nodded, "Sounds like you have done some improving to the fiber strength."

Kai stepped forward and started speaking to the seamstress in some weird foreign language as she worked on some fabric. She was an old woman, dark grey hair, dark wrinkled skin, her eyes strong, yet soft held many years of wisdom, she looked up to Castiel before nodding to Kai. Kai turned to Castiel, "We will have you set up and ready to start your training in no time." He smiled, "Wait, training?" Castiel said,

Kai raised an eyebrow, "Yes, how else do you expect to learn how to harness your power? I mean it can be self taught but that takes hundreds of years to accomplish, I am merely offering an alternative solution that will help us in the fight ahead." Castiel was a little unsure about this, but what could he do? He still had no idea how to call upon the Reaper, or even tap into the awareness that Kai says he has, "I guess I don't have much of a choice do I?" Kai smirked, "Not if you want to defeat Caeruleus. Do not worry, I have much in store for you and you will soon come to know of us as brothers and sisters." Castiel liked the idea of a brother hood, though it would take some time before he fit in with the rest of them.

Two hours after Kai had shown him the rest of the camp as well as the surrounding area, it had become dark. Kai had told Castiel that his robes would be ready by tomorrow, and left him in a small hut that Kai had prepared for him. Looking around the hut he could see a variety of different furs, and pelts they used to decorate the interior, though it was the 26th, century he still liked the idea of old world constructs and housing, a small candle was lit and placed on an old wooden desk at the back of the hut. The table held many different things, from books, to writings, to maps of Caeulum and it's continents, as well as a few gems that Castiel couldn't place. There was a ruffling behind him as the sound of the door covering was opened, Castiel turned to see who had entered only to find that no one was there. Eyeing the door suspiciously Castiel turned to look back at the maps, only to find a blade held at his throat. "are you sure that's a good idea?" He asked the intruder, he couldn't get a good look at who was holding the weapon but he could tell there was a major size difference.

"Quiet, I do not need you to tell me what I should and should not do. You may be a Reaper, but that doesn't mean I can't kill you." The voice was female, he was curious as to why she was threatening him. Castiel felt a growl deep within him, and he wasn't sure if he was the one making the noise. "What is this about? Why are you here?" He asked, she seemed angered but she continued, "I don't want you getting in our way, we have worked hard, Master Kai has worked hard. To ensure that we can finally end Caeruleus, make sure you do not screw up. He is putting a great deal of faith in someone he just met, and I am not going to see my mentor fail because of a stranger."

She grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face her, she had her face covered so only her blue eyes could be seen. A hood over the top of her head as she held a knife to his throat. He remembered her from when he first got here, she was the woman keeping her distance from the camp, "What makes you think I am not capable of completing what your master has set out for me?"

Her eyes darkened slightly as she seemed to be thinking about something, "Because he had one apprentice before, one other that had been chosen, and he failed. He was killed by Caeruleus and my master was forced into hiding, until the day he was needed again... I am not going to see hurt in my master, not again." She said, Castiel understood now that Trident had cause so much pain to these people, and if he didn't stop him soon, more people would suffer. "I promise, I will do what ever it takes to see this through, I will help you defeat Caeruleus and stop him from further killing any more innocent people."

Castiel said, his resolve hardening as he thought about what the future held in store for him. She lowered her knife and sheathed it, "You better, Kai is counting on you, the universe is counting on you." She started to walk towards the huts entrance but stopped just as she reached it, "Training will be held tomorrow, I hope you are prepared for what we have to teach you." With that, she pushed the pelt covering out of the way and exited the hut, leaving Castiel alone with his thoughts.

"Well, as aggressive as that was, I can't help but feel I need to help these people. And to do that means to discover what lies inside of me." He said to himself as he put a hand over his chest right above his heart. He could feel the scars from where the Reaper had placed his mark on him, he couldn't tell what it was but the lines etched in his skin were very defined. Castiel sighed and walked over to the cot on the far side of the room, sitting down on it he contemplated where his friends might be, Orion, probably out searching for Trident, accompanied by Theron and Strife most likely. The other freelancers and soldiers he knew might be out fighting their own battles, unaware that something dark is heading right for them.

Castiel shook the thoughts out of his head as he looked to the candle still lit, though the light was dimming. The candle stick had melted down to the bottom and was barely containing the wick and flame, he sat there watching it burn until there was no more support for the wick to hold itself up and the flame doused, leaving him in complete darkness. Castiel didn't mind, though he would have loved to sit up and watch the candle burn he knew he would need his rest for the things to come. Swinging his legs onto the cot he rested his head on a small pelt constructed as a make shift pillow and stared at the ceiling. He wasn't sure if sleep would ever find him, but it soon did, casting itself into his mind and causing him to drift off until there was absolute bliss, and for all the times he managed to get some sleep, this one was by far the best he had ever had. A beautiful dreamless sleep.


	7. Chapter 7: Tyrant of Caelum

Tyrant of Caelum  
by Agent Ghost

"It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners."  
-Albert Camus

Version 2.0  
Edited By: Agent California & Serria159

Post Operation: DarkFall

Part I  
Several months had passed and Castiel had finally begun to understand his new family, he had struggled, he was almost overcome by his 'other' several times but he pushed through. He had trained hard and now, he was more than ready to face his next challenge. "Castiel."  
A deep voice spoke through the darkness of the large hall they were in, the place that had been built by the Marked Ones for the Orders council to meet and discuss their next course of action; now it was being used to go over Castiel's final stage of training. The assassination of the insurrectionist Commander overseeing the large facility several hundred miles from the Altar of the Sky. "You have proven yourself through training and perseverance, now the time has come for your final test, and your initiation into the Order." The man speaking was not Kai, rather one of the village elders; a man named Ralak. He was very respected among them, especially by Kai.  
"I am ready Elder Ralak, I will bring to Death the souls of the corrupt, and I will emerge victorious." The Elder simply nodded and turned to speak to one of the other Elders, he then turned and nodded to Kai who in turn nodded. Ralak turned back to Castiel and spoke again, "You understand that this is your journey, and yours alone to travel, none of your Brothers and Sisters can accompany you here."  
Castiel nodded, "I understand Elder Ralak."  
Ralak nodded and stood from his seat, "Then there is nothing left to be said. Ready your equipment and speak to Master Kai before you leave, he will provide you with the details of what you will be facing."  
Castiel nodded and bowed to the Elders before walking out of the meeting hall. Castiel opened the wooden door that led to the pathway outside, looking around he saw that it was somewhere around 6:00 AM, they had begun the meeting an hour before the sun rose, knowing full well he had at least two or three days travel before he reached his objective.  
"Castiel, Castiel!" A child's voice sounded off to his right. Looking over he saw the small form of Kalani, the little girl he had met when he was first brought to the village. Castiel knelt down and waited for the little girl to run up to him.  
"What is it little one?" He asked.  
She smiled and lifted what looked to be a Frost Rose, "I found this in the clearing by the pond, I want you to have it."  
Castiel smiled and took the flower by the stem, holding between three fingers, "It's beautiful Kalani, thank you." He said looking the rose over before tucking it away in his pocket, "Now take care of the village while I'm gone ok?" He asked placing a hand on her shoulder.  
"I will Castiel, be careful and come back soon!" She said before running off to go play with the other children.  
Kai had exited the hall and walked up behind Castiel, "Let's walk to your hut, I will explain to you the layout of the facility and what to expect when you're there," he said, patting him on the shoulder before walking off towards Castiel's hut. Castiel stood and followed him.  
Kai asked, "How has your smith work with Sora been going? I trust you have crafted tools you can use in your mission?" This was true. Not only had he been working for months on bettering himself in the art of war, but he was also becoming a better craftsman and smith.  
"Yes, I have crafted the weapons required for my mission, they will prove to be good versatile tools." He responded, they reached the front of his hut and Kai stepped in past the fur covering, Castiel followed him and they entered the dimly lit structure. Pulling a piece of parchment from his cloak, Kai unrolled it and set it down on the table in the corner, "This is a map of the area," he said as Castiel walked up behind him and looked over his shoulder. "The entire facility was constructed near a ravine, literally, right next to it. The air pad is on a structure directly over the ravine."  
As he spoke, Castiel readied his blades. During initiation, especially when hunting a target, the Marked Ones were required to use blades or ancient weapons, such as swords, javelins, spears, bows, anything. As long as it fit that criteria, they could use it. His choice of weapons, however, were designed for close to medium range combat. Two belts went across his chest in an x-pattern, each containing ten small throwing blades. Each one was about six inches long: two inches of handle and four inches of blade. They were composed entirely of molecularly metal. They didn't use grip on them, instead they were forged to slip freely from the hands of the user, allowing for a cleaner faster kill. The belt connected to a large sheathe on his back that contained Castiel's new Assassin's blade. Every Marked One crafted their own signature blade, and this one was his. The few times he used it in training to test its durability and speed, he was rewarded with perfect result., The others nicknamed it the 'Phantom Blade' and it kind of stuck. It was long enough that it could be considered a short sword, but was still short enough to still be called a knife.  
The blade itself was twelve inches long, with the handle being four and a half inches. The way it was designed allowed it to cut through the air silently and efficiently, yet still retained the force to cleave through a full grown pine if wielded by the right person. His next set of weapons consisted of two five inch throwing knives. Each handle was somewhat of an hourglass shape, but rounded off instead of pointed. Sheathed on his lower back with blades facing in towards his spine, so the hilt was easier to access, the final three weapons were the eight inch combat knives strapped to his right thigh, and two spear head grip blades. These were used to deliver a deadly punch. The blade itself was three inches long and was shaped like a triangle with a sharp edge on all sides that tapered into a single point. The handles were small and made to grip in between his middle and ring fingers. The hilt guard was used as a grip, almost like putting on brass knuckles. However the grips were smaller and he didn't have to sheath the handle over his fingers to use them. The blades were located on the underside of each forearm, allowing him to unsheathe them in concealment and use them before the enemy knew what was happening.  
That pretty much summed up Castiel's arsenal of weapons, minus the empty sheathe he had on his chest, right above his heart. He made that one specifically for when he located his knife... 'No... Her... Knife...'  
He shook his head. Not wanting to delve into the darker parts of his mind, he turned his attention back to Kai as he finished explaining the rest of the layout. "It's very mountainous, so you can expect several patrols guarding the exterior of the facility on the mountain trails. You can also plan on light armor and even combat fitted Pelicans should they decide to call in reinforcements." He looked back to Castiel, "You must tread carefully, the entire facility will be protected, if there is any chance in hell you will get close to that place it will be with the training you have received."  
Castiel nodded, grabbed the supplies he needed for the next few days travel, and stuffed them into a bag, "I will return, and when I do, I will be ready to leave and face our greatest enemy." Castiel said as he began to walk towards the exit, turning to look back at Kai one more time, "You can count on it." He said before exiting the hut and making his way West.

A ship lay in low orbit of an unknown planet, a soldier decked out from head to toe in Spartan attire sat in the hangar of the ship near one of the Pelican dropships. The man clad in crimson and blue pondered many things, one of which was why the hell they decided to pick this planet to look for Lynchers. He remembered the conversation he had with Bill, "The place shows plenty of natural resources embedded within the planet, and we have also picked up some Lyncher bad guys so you can have some fun while you're down there." He smirked under his helmet. That was a good point but he was still unsure about why they had to choose this random planet out of all the other random planets.  
"Hey Dex, you ready to go mate?" A voice snapped Dex out of his thoughts, looking up he could see two men walking towards him. The one who spoke up stepped up towards him.  
"Yeah PipeLiner, I'm good to go. Just not to sure about why they chose this place of all things. It's way the hell out of the way!"  
PipeLiner just smirked under his helmet, "I don't know boss, but it gives us a chance to get back at those bastards right?"  
Dex's eyes darkened, "Too right mate."  
The other soldier standing near them spoke up, "If you two are done talking about doing it, I'd like to get on that ship and go get it done."  
Dex rolled his eyes, "Alright DeepFlash, calm down before you explode. We are getting our information from Bill, then we can go. He said he had to set it up in our uplink systems." DeepFlash just grunted before walking off to go wait in the pelican dropship.  
"Hey boss. What ya thinkin about?" PipeLiner asked, Dex simply shrugged.  
"Mate, when we aren't fighting a war, maybe I'll come and talk to ya. Till then, lets keep the emotional stuff to ourselves eh?"  
PipeLiner simply shrugged, "You got it boss, I'll just make sure Rubber Dick doesn't blow a gasket waiting for us."  
Dex chuckled at that, "You do that."  
Just as PipeLiner walked away, a voice piped up over his com, "Dex. We've just cleared the planet's Orbit, you guys are clear to take a bird down."  
Dex nodded and acknowledged before he too stepped onto the pelican and strapped in, "Lets get this over with."

Part II  
The steady rumble of the Pelican kept up the background noise as the small group of Spartans made their way planetside to deal with the insurrectionist forces stationed at the facility. Though PipeLiner and DeepFlash had been talking amongst themselves, Dex remained rather quiet, more so than usual.  
This behavior was strange. Yes, he was like this sometimes with his men, but something had been plaguing him for a while now. Something he himself wasn't too sure about. As he thought it over, the voice of the pilot came in over the loudspeaker, "We've reached atmosphere, we have a good 15 minutes before we reach our checkpoint." As the dropship reached the oxygenated levels of the lower atmosphere, the back hatch opened up, revealing the bright blue skies of the planet known as Caelum. He wondered, why such a place hadn't been thoroughly colonized before the war. Then again, Bill's spec's on the planet did say that the place was prized for it's natural resources, and that only a few million were granted access to colonization rights.  
Knowing he'd have to do it at some point, Dex went through his checklist of the weapons he brought with him, including his internal weaponry. His MJOLNIR suit was specially designed with custom outfitted weapons to suit his style of combat. The hidden blades in his wrist were used for a quicker substitute than the combat knife, just a quick flick of the wrist and he could dispatch more than a full squad of marines. He went through and checked his MA5K assault rifle, loaded his M6G magnum and prepared himself for the landing. They would be going in through the front door, if there was one thing Raptor Team liked doing, it was knocking on the front door before kicking it open. He smiled at that, and content with his team's capabilities. He knew that the Lynchers were tough, especially the more specialized units. Yet he had no doubt his guys could take them down. A timer appeared on his visor, five minutes to checkpoint. Looking to the other squad members, he saw them preparing for the operation as well, just like every mission before. Good lads. They could be rash at times but they did their job, perfectly and efficiently. That's what he liked about them.  
Turning to face the opening hatch, he stood up. The pelican leveled out and was cruising just above a vast tree line and a partially snowy landscape. Dex could see an immensely large mountain in the distance. He remembered Bill saying something about that being the tallest point in all of Caelum, as well as there being some lore behind the large summit.  
He didn't pay his ramblings much mind, rather focusing on the mission at hand, looking back at the timer. It had dropped to two minutes and thirty seconds; wouldn't be long before he could engage those bastards and find the coward leader dwelling inside the large facility. Then he could find the next Lyncher location, and eventually, to Agent Lynch himself.

The slender form of a human was sitting near a large pine tree overlooking the insurgent facility. The optics on her sniper rifle enhanced her vision so that she could clearly see the outer structure of the area, as well as the positions of all the outer guards and most of the inner guards.  
Scoping out she set her sniper rifle down to her side and turned to face the large group behind her. "The target is in that facility. We've received intel that this is where he frequently visits to check up on supply depots and to interchange the security detail positioned here. This will be his final resting place, along with every insurgent in that base." Looking to the large form of a Sangheili Spec Ops standing not too far to her left she said, "David, I want your team to move in first. I'll follow in with second team once you have cleared the first levels, we will provide support from these hills." The Sangheili nodded. She turned her attention to the rest of their team, "Any questions? No? Good, all right Harley and GSD, you two will go in with David on the first strike team." She motioned to the Spartan III in black armor and the rather large Sangheili who bore the armor of an Ultra, the colors were brown with steel, with specialized heat and light absorbing camosapplied. They were outfitted for close combat in darker areas.  
Next she faced a pair of Sangheili and Spartan leaning against a large rock waiting for her command, "Agent Cerberus, Agent Roga, you two will join first strike team with Harley and GSD; David will be acting commander of that team and I expect you to listen to him on everything."  
Both of the soldiers nodded, so she turned to the remaining two soldiers in her group, "Nevaeh, Ariah, you two are with me on these hills. Once they have secured the area we will move in and help secure the rest of the facility." The two female Spartans nodded in unison and set up positions to provide support from the hills. Though they were not specifically the snipers of the group, they would do for now. She needed the main group to go in first and secure the area.  
The large Sangheili known as David approached the leader of the group, "Agentized, are we certain this is the right man?"  
She turned to look at him, determination and certainty evident in her tone, "Yes I'm sure, the intel we got was good. You can trust me."  
He nodded once, that was all he needed to hear, before turning to join the rest of the team. Once all of them had readied themselves she gave the green light to start, First strike team made their way down the hills while Agentized, Nevaeh, and Ariah set up sniper positions to cover them.

High amounts of small arms fire were hitting the outer armor of the pelican. Apparently, they had gotten too close and they had been the base's sensor array. This activated the anti air defenses, so the team had to hot drop out of the dropship as the pilot attempted to make a break for higher airspace, leaving a trail of launched flares and ecm chaff in his wake. The Pelican didn't make it that far, as a surface to air missile lanced out of a nearby launcher and finished it off a couple seconds after they had jumped. The flaming wreckage spun out of control, crashing with a loud boom in the distance, the thick pines concealing the wreckage.  
"Well, boss looks like we'll have to find our own ride out of here huh?" PipeLiner said as they started moving towards the base, Dex taking the lead.  
The front guard of the facility had raised the gates after spotting the Pelican, as they didn't want to take a chance that anyone had managed to survive the crash. However, they didn't account for the three super soldiers making their way to the front doors. Opening fire on the three they tried suppressing them with small arms fire and grenades.  
The first to take action was PipeLiner, who dived forward and unleashing hell with his flamethrowers, overheating the grenades thrown at them and exploding them in mid-air,This provided a screen of cover from the enemies which gave them enough time to act. DeepFlash was next up, locking on to the two guard Towers and unloading the acid pellet rounds into the area. As the highly acidic substance started burning through the armor and weapons of the marines up there, it slowed defense's rate of fire. This gave Dex enough time to reach the main gate and activate the systems, letting the doors open on their own, and allowing the Raptors to enter their facility.  
Once inside, they took out the main guard near the front gates and entry points of what looked like the warehouse portion of the facility. Opening one of the doors, the three went in special ops style and made sure it was clear to continue. The place was filled with crates and boxes, mostly supply and munitions, but there were a few blueprints to NAV specs and ships there too. Looking up, he ran his eyes over the second level. It was more like a stairway that surrounded the windows above and encircled the entire warehouse, making it easy to move from one side of the building to the next. Dex moved forward, weaving through the larger crates. "Keep your eyes open boys, this is close combat, and they could be hiding."  
Both acknowledged and followed him through. Dex rounded a corner and saw something unusual: the body of a marine pinned to a crate with what looked like a crowbar. "Odd, I don't remember doing that . . ." He said as the other two rounded the corner and saw what he was talking about.  
"Do you think he lost a bet?" DeepFlash piped up.  
Dex rolled his eyes, "I don't think they'd waste a human life in some dumb ass gambling game. But it is the Lynchers, so nothing surprises me."  
Turning to DeepFlash and PipeLiner, he was about to give the next command when he saw a rather large hooded figure keeping to the shadows a couple yards away from them. Slightly surprised, he raised his rifle and took aim at the stranger, causing the other two to simultaneously spin around and pick up the target.  
"Oi mate, what's with the getup?" DeepFlash questioned, his magnum pointed right at the mysterious hooded figure. The man turned in their direction, now aware of the Raptors. He walked into the light, allowing them to see his attire more clearly. The man was covered from head to toe in some ancient garb: blades adorned his chest, arms, and legs, and a cowl covered his head and face. The only thing they could see were his eyes, which were an intense dark green.  
"Hey Dex, do you think he's a Lyncher?" PipeLiner asked, his gun still trained on the large man.  
Dex, who wasn't too sure himself, as the Lynchers didn't normally wear stuff like this.  
"Better safe then sorry mate. Put him down," Dex said as his finger moved towards the trigger.  
Before they had time to react however, the man had reached for the belt across his chest and had thrown three projectiles towards them, striking all three of their weapons and rendering them useless.  
"You Asshole!" DeepFlash yelled, "That was one of my favorites!" He charged him, firing an acid round towards the man. It wasn't fast enough though, as the man sidestepped the round and slipped out a blade, blocking DeepFlash's initial punch and countering it by busting his shields with a slash of his knife, angering him DeepFlash threw another punch only to have it deflected as he was kicked back towards his allies.  
He was about to stand and charge the man again when Dex grabbed him by the shoulder, "Wait you idiot, you're going to get your ass handed to you if you continue to charge in blindly!" Though still infuriated, he complied and stood up, allowing Dex to step forward, "So your a blade guy huh? I can appreciate that, but it ends for you here mate," He said as he unsheathed his hidden blades and allowed them to come into view of his opponent. "I'm a bit of blade guy myself."  
The robed man accepted his challenge and also stepped forward, unsheathing another combat knife from his lower back so that he had one in each hand. They stood there for a moment, waiting to see what the other would do. Each soldier was trying to size up their opponent and figure out what kind of fighter each of them truly was. Dex glanced to his right and saw a rope tied to a crate, letting his gaze travel down the length of the rope he realized it was attached to a large crate suspended above his advisory, with a grin under his helmet he slashed the rope with his blade, snapping the rope and Letting loose the cargo that was suspended in the air.  
The man looked up as the cargo fell, before diving forward just as it crashed down on the spot he was standing at moments before. Recovering from the roll, he was within striking distance of Dex. Quickly, he swung upward to hopefully meet the Raptor's neck. Dex however, was quick to block with his own blade before starting a counter of his own, thrusting his left arm towards his opponent's stomach. The man was anticipating the strike, however, and blocked with his second knife. Locked in a struggle for dominance, the two fought to overpower each other. Dex saw an opening though, and struck out with his foot to try and knock his opponent off balance. The strike connected and the robed man stumbled, allowing Dex to backhand the man and send him tumbling backward. Dex quickly charged him as the man hit a nearby crate wall, thrusting his fist forward in an attempt to end his opponent quickly. The man was ready for it and used his forearm to block Dex's punch, kicking him in the gut with a powerful leg and sending Dex to the ground. Winded by the blow, Dex reacted when he saw the shadow of the man loom over him, rolling out of the way just as he thrust his knife into the steel flooring that Dex's helmet was just moments ago. Sparks flew as the metal of the blade stuck into the ground. Ripping it out he started over towards Dex who was now standing, the man charged and swung his right blade towards Dex's midsection. Dex blocked and struck the man's hand, sending the knife spiraling away. The man tried to do the same with Dex's blade but failed, due to the fact his blades were anchored into his armor. Dex used his opponent's momentary slip up to act, striking out with his bladed hand towards his attacker's face. It was stopped though, the man used both hands to grab Dex's fist and stop his death punch in mid strike. Taking Dex, by surprise the man, twisted his arm which caused the hidden blade to sheathe itself before he followed up with a sidekick to Dex's abdomen. Tensing, he took the brunt of the blow and charged forward, wrenching himself from his opponent's grip and diving towards him. Dex tackled the man to the ground and began assaulting him with a flurry of punches. The man put his forearms up in a guard position to protect his face as he took the assault from the Raptor. Using this as an advantage while Dex was distracted with trying to bust his face in, the man thrust his knee upwards and hit Dex in the gut. This winded him and halted the flurry of punches, this allowed the man enough time to pull out one of the triangular blade from under his wrist and thrust it into Dex's thigh, it went right past the shields and into the black under suit were the armor wasn't there to protect him. Dex yelled and was kicked off as the man recovered and slid the blade back into its sheath.  
Hearing noises from above he saw his knives on the floor near each other. Diving forward, he quickly grabbed them and slid them back into their sheaths before turning to face the now very pissed off Raptor.  
"You damned asshole," Dex roared. "You got me there. Now come on and lets finish this!"  
The man, instead of unsheathing a blade to attack Dex, again turned and sprinted off down the main part of the warehouse before leaping up and kicking off a wall. Using that movement as momentum, he landed atop a crate and ran up another until he was at the second floor. He ripped open a metal vent grate located along the wall with one swift motion before briefly looking back at Dex and the Raptors. Then, he vanished into the darkness.  
"Don't run away you little coward! You think your little ninja tricks will save you? I will find your ass and shove my blade down your throat!" just as he finished those words doors to the upper levels burst open and Insurrectionist forces filled the stairwells, aiming their weapons at the Raptors.  
"Well, this could have gone better," DeepFlash said as they ran their eyes over the squads of enemies and heavy weapons trained on them. "Any idea on how we are getting out of this one boss?" PipeLiner spoke up as they looked at the enemy.  
Before Dex could deem his snarking with a response, small bullet sized holes busted through the upper windows and several guards dropped dead before the others could act. Three large forms of Sangheili burst through the windows, followed by two humans decked out in Spartan Power Armor. Firing on the guards, these new arrivals bought the Raptors time to get up to the second level. As they dashed forward, the Raptors grabbed the weapons off the fallen guards to use against the insurrectionists. Dex ran out of ammo on his clip right as a guard was taking aim on him.  
He cursed under his breath and braced for the gunfire telltale shield impacts but it never came. Instead, another round burst through a pane of an unbroken glass window and splattered the soldier's brains over the safety rails and onto the crates below. Dex ducked down and made his way to one of the vents he saw the hooded guy go through. DeepFlash and PipeLiner followed close behind. Making a short crawl through the vents, they soon found their way to a stairwell that led to a larger room in the facility.  
Dex noticed a Spartan checking the area and took aim on him before taking the shot. He opened fire and peppered the Spartan with his Armor-Piercing assault rifle rounds. The man's shields flared and the Spartan struggled to find cover. Once the Spartan ducked behind heavy cover Dex heard PipeLiner yell, turning around he saw PipeLiner fly across the room, followed by DeepFlash tackling a rather large Sangheili. Dex turned back to where the pinned Spartan was only to see two large elites hovering over him. The bigger one in ranger armor grabbed Dex by the throat and lifted him to eye level.  
"Stupid Insurrectionist," He rasped. "Don't you know that when you mess with one of us you mess with all of us?" He activated his energy sword and was about to end him when the sound of a pyro who just remembered he had very large flamethrowers started up from behind Dex.  
"Hey losers! Need a light?" PipeLiner said in a crazed tone as two small flames ignited in front of the empty barrels. Laughing like a maniac he started them up and threw streams of scorching napalm at the two Sangheili. Dropping Dex, they dove out of the way as the fire passed above Dex and covered the area. Rolling out of the way Dex stood up only to be shot at by another Spartan that had just entered the room. Spinning around he unloaded his magnum at the attacker which caused the Spartan to back off slightly to recharge his shields.  
While the Sangheili were distracted by PipeLiner and his 'fiery' personality, Dex looked over to DeepFlash who was currently fighting the Sangheili that he had taken to the ground. Turning back to where the Spartan was taking cover he unhooked a grenade from his belt and tossed it in his general direction. "Hope ya like my present," he yelled as the grenade bounced off the wall and into the corner he had seen the Spartan dive into.  
The small explosive went off and the shrapnel covered the area. He grinned, thinking he took care of his opponent when he heard a noise behind him. Rapidly turning, he was met with a gauntleted fist to the visor by the same Spartan who was originally hiding in the corner. As Dex flew backwards and skidded across the floor, the Spartan that had punched him charged. Rolling backwards to gain distance between himself and his opponent, Dex stood up and readied himself for his attacker...

Agentized had gotten a report from Agent David that they had come in contact with three Spartan-II class soldiers. They were currently fighting them in a central hallway just above the warehouse and right next to the landing pad at the back of the facility, scoping in she could see large amounts of insurrectionist forces gathered there.  
"David, leave the Spartans alone for now. I think I've targeted the commander of the facility. Head out the doorway to the North to the landing pad. If you hurry you can stop him before he escapes," she informed.  
There was a static but David replied, "copy Agentized, moving towards the checkpoint."  
Looking back to Ariah and Nevaeh she spoke, "lets move down to meet them, we need to finish off the rest of their forces with David and the others."  
Both Ariah and Nevaeh nodded and followed her as she descended the hills and towards the facility.

As Dex readied himself to take on his attacker, he was surprised to see that his opponent had stopped. Instead of attacking him, the spartan turned back and ran towards his squadmates who were further back. The Sangheili that DeepFlash was fighting threw him against the wall before running to join his comrades.  
"Oh no you don't you bastards!" Dex yelled as they ran for the door, Dex hot on their heels. The Sangheili that DeepFlash had been fighting was the last one through, but he wasn't quick enough. Dex tackled him from behind through the door and into the snowy outside. He was about to deal a death blow when he heard the sound of hundreds of rifles cocking. Looking up, he realized the rest of the Sangheili's group wasn't focused on him, including the elite he tackled.  
Instead, they were looking at the vast amounts of soldiers surrounding them. Dozens of well-armed insurgent soldiers were positioned on the landing pad in front of them. All of the infantry were in heavy cover, using repositioned crates and bullet-proof barriers as heavy defences. On the perimeter of the landing pad, a single catwalk weaved its way around the upper levels of the buildings surrounding the pad. On the second level, numerous insurgent marines aimed heavy weapons down at them. Several squads of marines on near the landing pad repositioned themselves using the pelican as cover. Dex slowly stood up from where he was on the ground, allowing the Sangheili to stand.  
"I take it you guys aren't with them?" Dex asked the Sangheili who was standing next to him. The elite shook his head as a graying man stepped out from the crowd of soldiers.  
"Well, I'm glad I had a larger amount of security with me today." He smirked at this comment, as if amused by his statement. "Looks like your attempt to infiltrate this facility, though successful in the beginning, will merely end with you staring down a firing squad as you meet your fate," the leader smugly stated. The man was a old, wearing a large black trenchcoat with the ranking pads of a UNSC Colonel. Grey hair poked out from under his officer's cap, and his deep-blue eyes, still sharp and piercing despite his age, evaluated them like a hunter admiring his latest catch. He wore a thin black belt around his pants, with a notable bulge where he holstered a single standard-issue M6G pistol. As he stepped forward, Dex noted he carried with him an air of self-assurance, as if he was in control of the situation at all times.  
Dex loathed him already.  
Noises came from behind, and DeepFlash and PipeLiner came out with their hands behind their head, three female Spartans following them with weapons trained on them. They stopped when they saw the soldiers in front of them. "Ah, good. More of you to join your comrades." The leader grinned and leaned forward, gesturing to one of his soldier's squad leaders. "Tell me Kamarov," he said as he addressed the squad leader, "Is this all of the infiltrators?"  
The heavily armed marine who was apparently Kamarov nodded slowly, never once taking his eyes or his weapon off the small group of spartans and Sangheili they were surrounding.  
The leader's eyes lit up at this statement and he chuckled quietly. "It appears I caught you all at a bad time. Maybe I should have waited and let you kill each other off first." He chuckled again. "By all means, you should still do that. Then I wouldn't have to waste any more of my soldiers on you." At this, he turned and began to walk back towards the pelican dropship that adorned the landing pad. As he walked forward, the pelican's hatch opened, showing nothing but darkness on the inside.  
"I wish I could stay and watch your execution, but I must be off. Our commander doesn't like to be kept waiting, and our plans against my former employers and ONI have been accelerated." He stopped, his chuckle turning into a full fledged laugh. "Normally, I'd be worried that I might have given you too much data. But, it's not like you'll survive the next 24 hours." He turned around and resumed his walk to the pelican, quietly musing the entire way. "Everything is going according to plan," he mumbled as he walked towards the hatch.  
Two heavily armed marines fell into step behind him as he neared the hatch. Just as he was about to board the Pelican, a large figure appeared out of the shadows inside the Pelican, the same hooded man that Dex had a run in with inside the warehouse.  
The Commander recoiled and stumbled backwards. His two marine guards ran forward and aimed their auto-shotguns at the robed figure.  
"You." The insurgent commander growled slightly, his voice filled with an undertone of menace. The infantry behind the pelican dashed forward, forming a wall of armor and assault rifles between the robed figure and their leader.  
The insurgent commander slowly pulled himself up and drew his magnum from its holster. He fiddled with it for a second, before pointing it at the figure. Then, he spoke.  
"It appears I made a severe error in judgement in believing you were a corpse." His eyes narrowed at this. "I guess I'll have to verify your death personally."  
At this, his guards opened fire. Auto-shotguns and assault rifles filled the space of the pelican's troop bay with fire and metal. The hooded figure lunged forward, skillfully evading the fire of the two shotgun armed guards.  
He quickly grabbed the auto-shotgun of one of the guards, shoving the stock of the weapon into the marine's uncovered face. The impact momentarily stunned the soldier, allowing him to twist the weapon so that it was facing towards his armed soldier's finger spasmed twice, and two high-explosive fragmentation rounds turned the other marine into a pile of meat and shattered bones. With a quick motion, he slit the other guard's throat while he oriented the corpse to face the incoming fire of the other marines. The corpse juggled and twitched as rounds slammed into it as the robed figure advanced. As he advanced, throwing knives were flung from his free hand. Each expertly-aimed projectile found its mark. Six more infantry surrounding the insurgent leader fell loosely to the ground, like puppets whose strings had just been cut. small knives stuck out of their throats.  
The remaining five soldiers surrounding the leader redoubled their fire upon seeing their comrades fall, but they were too late. The hooded figure flung the bullet ridden corpse at the two closest marines. They stumbled under the weight of their fallen comrade and tried to re-orient their weapons, but to no avail. The hooded man leaped forward, stabbing each soldier in the throat, before leaping forward again. He expertly weaved his way forward, dodging streams of 7.62 rounds as he sliced his way through the three remaining marines. Now it was just him and the commander.  
The insurgent leader's trigger finger pulsed at the exact same time the robed man lunged.  
The noise of the single gunshot and the whoosh of flying steel echoed across the landing pad. The robed figure grunted slightly, and moved his hand to cover his side. He lifted his fingers up and examined them. They were red with blood. The insurgent commander stumbled slightly, and his pistol fell to the ground. The clink of metal on metal resounded through the quiet courtyard. Falling to his knees, the insurgent commander's hands reached up and fumbled at his chest. His fingers briefly touched the small throwing knife now stuck in his chest., directly over his heart. It was a perfectly aimed killshot. His hands fell to his side.  
The landing pad was completely silent, nothing moved except for the quiet sounds of the commander and the robed man's breathing. Then, a quiet chuckle erupted from the mortally wounded commander. Even as blood poured from his mouth, the chuckle turned into a full blown laugh,as if the entire event was just one big joke. The robed man's head moved up and stared at the commander.  
Even as he fought to contain his laughter, the commander leaned forward and whispered quietly between increasingly raspy bouts of laughter. His sharp blue eyes met the green ones of his opponent, and he smiled.  
His mouth slowly opened, and three words fought their way through the blood and mucus that even now were filling his throat and lungs. They were so quiet, Dex strained to hear them even with his augmented hearing.  
"Not. as. planned." With those three words, the insurgent leader's eyes darkened. With a final, bloody rasping cough, he fell to the floor.  
The robed figure stepped forward, and leaned down on one knee next to the commander's rapidly cooling corpse. "You are the next step, in time I will hunt down Caeruleus, and his underlings, starting with you." With that, he nodded and reached his hands around the pair of dog-tags around the commander's neck. With one quick motion, he ripped them off and pocketed them.  
The soldiers were stunned. Dex was too but he quickly recovered, taking aim and firing on the soldiers, the rest of the group snapped out of it and did the same, eliminating the insurrectionists before they had time to react. By the time they did it was too late, their numbers had dwindled until there was nothing but a small group of them left, and eventually they too were eliminated.  
The two groups stood away from each other in the mass of bodies, unsure of how to confront each other, the hooded man walking towards them. "I'm sorry I had to injure you, I wasn't sure who you were and so I acted in a way that would end with you coming out alive." He said as he looked to Dex, "Eh, you just scratched me." He said casually, "But who are you mate? Better yet, who are all of you?" Dex asked the rogue group of Spartans and Sangheili as well as the hooded figure. One of the female Spartans stepped up, she had an authoritative aura about her, and when she spoke she spoke as if she was in command of all who were present, "I am Agentized, leader of the group you see before you. Every one of them are specialized in various forms of combat, the Sangheili to my right is Agent David, he's my second. The others..." She turned and started naming them off, pointing to each one, "Agent Harley, Agent GSD, Agent Cerberus, Agent Ticonderoga, Agent Nevaeh, and Agent Ariah." She then turned to Dex and his men, "Who are you?" She asked crossing her arms.  
Dex stepped up and cleared his throat, "I am Dexter Grimstock, but you can call me Dex. Thats DeepFlash, and thats PipeLiner, two members of my squad that accompanied me down here. I am the leader of Raptor team and we were here to hunt down a Lyncher commander but..." He looked towards the hooded man, "Ninja over there got to him before we could." He turned to him, "By the way, who are you? You've been quiet all this time and I'm sure the rest of them would like to know as well." The man stepped forward and looked at Dex, everyone turned to him waiting for an answer. "I am Sierra-111, though you can call me Castiel. There are many things that led to me being here with you, and maybe one day I can explain it to you, but now is not the time, I couldn't stop the activation of the self detonation of this facility, if we do not hurry and get out of here this whole place will careen off this ravine and I don't fancy being here when that happens." Castiel walked in between the two groups, "Follow me and I can get you out of here." Though Dex was still unsure of the guy as he was of the other group of soldiers he felt he had no choice but to trust him, "All right mate, lead the way. Boys, lets go."  
They began moving but Agentized and her men stayed where they were. "Thank you for your help Castiel, but we are more than capable of getting out of here on our own. Maybe we will meet again one day. Until then, good luck." With that she led her group towards a side stairwell. Castiel looked back only once before continuing on into the facility followed by the Raptors. They set off on a brisk pace and it wasn't long before they felt the rumble of the facility as the main charges started detonating. Shaking the facility it became harder to maneuver through the warehouse as they tried to get out. Castiel made it to one of the doors only to find it barred from the other side, turning quickly he sprinted down the corridor, "Follow me, I saw a vehicle depot near the side of the facility, you can use that to escape." Not questioning Dex and the others followed him, through various corridors until they burst through a doorway that led to an open snowy ground with a chain link fence surrounding several Scorpions, warthogs and smaller UNSC vehicles. DeepFlash grinned under his helmet and went straight up to the biggest Scorpion he saw, "I'll clear a hole, you boys follow up behind me." He stated as he hopped into the tank and closed the hatch, Dex and PipeLiner grabbed a warthog and started it up, "Hey Castiel, come with us mate. I know we didn't exactly get on well at first but we can get out of here and figure it out later." Castiel was about to step into the warthog, but something didn't feel right. He sensed trouble coming from within the facility, and knew that Agentized and her group were in danger. Stepping away he looked to Dex, "Thank you my friend, but the others need my help, maybe we will see each other again one day, but for now you have your path and I have mine. Good luck my friend." With those words he ran back into the facility just as one of the outer walls collapsed and blocked the door.  
PipeLiner stared back at the door in awe, "That guy is either insane or brave, going back in for complete strangers." DeepFlash rolled up and blew a hole through one of the walls, "Alright, lets roll out!" He yelled over the COMs, even though he drove off without hesitation, Dex was still confused at Castiel's sudden action, 'To go in after someone he didn't know? It's strange.' He thought as they drove away from the collapsing facility.

Agentized saw a metal bridge that connected the bottom of the facility to the side of the mountain, below them was the ravine that went down for thousands of feet. Her group had followed her here and they were certain this would lead to an escape. They did have difficulty finding a way out, but this would lead her group to safety. "Alright, lets move, David I'll go first and you follow up, make sure everyone gets across this bridge in one piece." The Ranger nodded and Agentized began moving across the bridge, the rumbling of the facility making it very unstable, she made it across and watched as the rest of them slowly made their way over. One by one they all made it across until it was just Nevaeh and Ariah, Nevaeh was slightly ahead of Ariah and they were slowly making their way across when a large explosion from the facility destroyed the supports of the main structure of the base above the bridge. Nevaeh turned around and her eyes widened, a large block of cement fell on top of the bridge on the far side, collapsing it and throwing the bridge into a large state of chaos, Nevaeh and Ariah ran as fast as they could. Making it all the way to the end, Nevaeh jumped just as the bridge collapsed, Ariah jumped as well but her momentum wasn't good enough as her hand just brushed the side before she fell a few feet. Luckily her foot had caught onto the piece of bridge still hanging by a couple steel wires attached to the mountain.  
"Ariah! Hold on I'm coming to get you!" Nevaeh cried out as she struggled to get to the side of the cliff, David grabbed her shoulder, "Are you insane!? If you add any more weight to that it might snap and take both of you to the bottom!" Nevaeh Turned and tried to shove him back, "I'm not leaving my sister there!" Agentized peered over the side, "Don't worry Ariah, try not to move we are going to get you!" Ariah nodded, her breathing a little sporadic considering she was dangling off the side of a cliff, "No worries, just dangling off the side of a cliff here, take your time." She said shakily, hearing a snapping sound she looked up to see one of the cords had gave way and that caused the entire bridge piece to shudder. "Uh, guys!" She yelled, they were trying but they didn't have anything to help get her out without trying to risk putting more weight on the already unstable bridge piece, Agentized looked down to Ariah, "You're going to have to try and climb Ariah, It's the only way you can make it up here safely." Ariah nodded, though she was still slightly shaken she attempted to climb, slowly so not to disturb the already weakening steel cables.  
Another snapping of the cables cause the bridge piece to jerk knocking Ariah off balance, she lost her grip and nearly fell but luckily she found a railing and grabbed onto that. Swallowing hard she strained to pull herself up, her friends unable to help her and simply watching in horror as their friend struggled in a life and death situation. An explosion from the other side of the ravine made Agentized look up, beneath all the smoke and fire she could see the form of someone, though it was too hard to make out, that was until the form jumped up onto one of the support beams connecting that side of the ravine to this one. Running across it and coming into view, she realized it was the man they had met earlier, Castiel... Why was he here? The snapping of the cables brought her out of her thoughts and she looked down, The bridge piece was only supported by one cable now, and Ariah was only halfway up it. She could see the cable straining as it tried to keep the weight, but it was a losing fight. Just as the last of the fibers in the cable tore, everything went in slow motion for Agentized, she saw the bridge piece give way, the form of Ariah as she lost her balance and started falling with the bridge piece. She thought it was the end.  
Then something unexpected happened, looking up she saw the form of Castiel as he dove off the support beam and plummeted towards Ariah. Watching the scene unfold she saw him catch up to her incredibly fast, she saw him grab her arm before spinning around and slamming one of his blades into the side of the mountain, halting their movement. Both Castiel and Ariah were breathing heavily, only being supported by the blade.

Castiel looked down at Ariah, who, despite having her helmet on, looked shocked that she was still alive. Castiel knew it was risky, but he wasn't about to let someone die if he had the chance to act.  
"Are you doing alright?" He asked her as they dangled.  
She looked up at him, "Well considering I'm still alive I'm fantastic, thanks to you."  
Castiel nodded, "Don't thank me quite yet, we still have to get out of this. He said, looking around he noticed a ledge that surprisingly led around the side of the cliff, looking back down he spoke, "Look, see that ledge right there?" He said, motioning to the overhang to their right. She nodded.  
"I'm going to throw you over there, then you're going to grab onto that ledge and climb on ok?" She looked to the ledge, uncertainty evident under her helmeted features.  
"Hey, don't worry about it, I won't let you fall," He said reassuringly.  
She looked up to him, and although they had only met a short time ago, she felt she could trust him. She nodded And Castiel looked back to the ledge. He began swinging his arm and along with it, Ariah. Eventually they built up enough momentum and Castiel released her towards the overhang. There was a brief moment of tension as she flew through the air, but soon as that moment had come it disappeared when she grabbed onto the edge and stopped herself, she managed to pull herself up and looked back to Castiel.  
"Alright your turn," she said as she backed up to give him the space to jump. He nodded and began swinging, building up his momentum until he was sure he could make it. With a quick tug he slid the knife from it's place in the mountain and flew through the air.  
Castiel came up short and had to dig his knife into the side of the cliff right below the lip. It dug in, but slid a foot or so. He struggled to lift himself, the rock here was covered in snow, making it hard to keep his grip. He felt himself slipping.  
Ariah leaned over and held out her hand, "Hurry! Take my hand!" She stretched out and tried to reach him, he looked up at her and lifted his free hand, but in doing so caused the blade to drag down further, his body jolted as it tried to hold on.  
She continued to hold her hand out, "Come on, you're going to have to try." She said, he looked back up to her. A moment ago the roles were switched, and now he found himself in need of saving. He looked at her for a moment, she was willing to save a complete stranger despite being put in danger herself, that was a quality in someone he hadn't seen in a long time. Determination filled his heart and he used all the strength he could muster to make one final leap, the knife slid out of it's hold and he held onto it as he went upwards towards her. He wasn't sure he was going to make it, but she extended her arm out as far as it would go and grabbed his wrist.  
At first she struggled with his weight, and he thought she might topple over, but she pulled through and slowly started pulling him upward. Eventually he was able to pull himself over the ledge and they both collapsed, breathing heavily.  
"T—thanks, thanks for that," Castiel said in between breaths.  
She merely nodded, "Don't mention it. Had it not been for you, I'd have been a goner."  
They took a moment, but eventually they stood up and followed the ledge. It rounded off and turned into a snow bank that led up to the top part of the cliff where the rest of Ariah's group was waiting for them. Nevaeh hugged Ariah and the others looked relieved that she was alive, Agentized walked up to Castiel and held out her hand. "Thanks for that, to think I almost lost one of my own. I couldn't bear to see them hurt, so thank you for saving her."  
He smiled under his masked features and shook her hand, "She played a big part in that as well, she saved me too. She's a good person, watch out for her and she will become one of your greatest friends." He said.  
She turned to look back to her group, "I care deeply for all of them, just as a leader should. Sometimes it's hard though, trying to keep them safe."  
He nodded and released his grip, "I know what you mean, having to protect those under your command can be a difficult task indeed, but it needs to be done to ensure their safety, and someone's got to do it."  
She nodded in agreement, and turned to face him, "So, where did you come from? Is there a ship nearby that you used to get here?" She asked looking around.  
He chuckled slightly at her antics. "No, you wouldn't really believe me if I told you and it's a long story. Do you guys have a ship here?" He asked her.  
She shook her head, "We did have a Pelican but we lost contact with it and don't know where it is."  
Castiel nodded, "I see, well I have a place you can stay at until we figure out how to get you all off planet. It's just a few days travel in that direction," he said pointing towards the large mountain in the distance.  
She looked at the large mountain for a moment, "Thank you for your kindness Castiel, we will accompany you until we find a way off this planet, and you can tell us your story since we have a few days, we will share with you ours."  
Castiel nodded, "Very well. Lets move out, I'll get us to the ridge line before dark, after that we have about two days worth of traveling and then we will be there." Agentized nodded and moved over to speak with the rest of them, they did not question her but some were slightly suspicious of Castiel, they had the right to be. He wasn't concerned with that though, he wanted to help them and he needed to return to complete his goal, if he wanted to save his friends from Caeruleus he could use all the help he can get, and these guys seemed to be very capable fighters. He hoped he could find out more about them in the journey ahead, but until then they were just a band of soldiers he had just met and were on slightly shaky but good terms with. Agentized walked up to him again and said the rest of the group agreed, so he led them away from the remains of the facility and towards the Altar of the Sky.


End file.
